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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29375064">Blast from the Past 4: End of the Summer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisethatcher5/pseuds/louisethatcher5'>louisethatcher5</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Blast from the Past [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lego Ninjago</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drama, Family Drama, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:53:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>45,518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29375064</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisethatcher5/pseuds/louisethatcher5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Book 4 in the Blast from the Past series. (read the first three before reading this book)</p>
<p>Where do we even start? Who knew that one party could lead to such travesty and despair? Who knew you could lose so much in such a short amount of time?</p>
<p>(Written in July-Aug 2020)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben and Cole, Nya/Jay Walker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Blast from the Past [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157759</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. End of the Summer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This series talks about mature themes such as mental health and family issues so please be aware before reading</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"We have 17 injured people coming in," A doctor rushed in through the hospital doors, telling the receptionist and other doctors surrounding the area, "9 teenagers, 4 elderly and 4 adults all suffering some serious injuries. They need to be taken straight to the emergency room."</p><p>Other doctors rushed around, the distance sound of beeping and people shouting, talking in the room. It was loud and very discomforting. They had many ambulances arriving carrying 17 new patients that were greatly injured and needed urgent treatment.</p><p>After a few moments, the main doors flung open, stretchers being rolled through across the floor. People moved out of the way everywhere to let them through. Paramedics were doing their best to stay calm. They brought through a couple at a time, doctors quickly surrounding, doing their job the best that they could. The emergency rooms were just down the corridor.</p><p>Alongside the first stretcher was a young boy with dark auburn hair. He had bright blue eyes and wore very scruffy and dirty clothes. He had cuts and bruises all over his face, arms and neck.</p><p>"What's her name?" The doctor asked as they approached.</p><p>The auburn haired boy glanced up, holding onto the patient's hand tightly, "Edna Walker."</p><p>"Age?" They wondered.</p><p>"65," He responded, his voice shaking.</p><p>The boy looked down at the elderly woman in the stretcher, holding back his tears.</p><p>"Don't worry, mom, we'll get to the bottom of this," He told the unconscious Edna.</p><p>He let go of her hand and watched as the doctors took her into the emergency room.</p><p>"Hang in there, mom," He murmured, his heart beating fast.</p><p>"Jay!"</p><p>The boy heard his name being shouted from the other side of the hospital, towards the door. Another boy had ran in, he had darker brown hair and pale green eyes. He, too, had cuts and bruises everywhere.</p><p>"Ben," Jay rushed up to him. The two almost held hands at the sight of each other. At least they weren't alone in this.</p><p>They directed their attention to the next two stretchers to be brought in. They rushed up to one each.</p><p>"Kai, you're gonna be okay buddy," Jay told his friend.</p><p>Kai was beaten up pretty bad. He had a huge cut on his forehead, his eye was bruised and he could barely move. He groaned a little.</p><p>"Hey Mr Walker," Ben spoke softly as an elderly man was brought it. He was also unconscious.</p><p>"Dad!" Jay exclaimed, rushing over to that exact same stretcher. As they walked down the corridor, Jay gripped onto his father's hand and rubbed it gently with his thumb. Ben placed a hand on Jay's shoulder.</p><p>"He's gonna be okay," He told him. Jay nodded and watched as they brought them into the emergency room. Another three stretchers were brought in.</p><p>"Look," Jay pointed at the first stretcher containing a young girl with red hair.</p><p>"Skylor," Ben stated quietly.</p><p>The doctors had to get her in fast as she already wasn't breathing.</p><p>"I'm sure everyone's gonna be okay," Ben gulped. Jay nodded, hoping for the best.</p><p>The next stretchers were brought in, the same ritual over and over again. First Zane and then Wu, Misako, Hayley, Jessie, Lloyd, Jake, Libber, Tox, Sabrina, Lou. Almost everyone had been brought in.</p><p>Ben gasped at the sight of another stretcher being brought in. Lying there was a rather destroyed boy with black hair and darker skin. Both boys rushed up to him.</p><p>"Cole!" They exclaimed in unison.</p><p>Ben instantly grabbed his hand. Cole just about had enough strength to squeeze Ben's hand. Jay glanced at his brother worriedly. Jay's gaze was directed at the last stretcher to be brought in. He gave his brother a smile of reassurance before wandering over to the last person.</p><p>Ben bent down and kissed his boyfriend's hand gently.</p><p>"I'm with you all the way, okay? I promise I won't leave your side," Ben told him.</p><p>"B-ben..." The weak boy trailed off.</p><p>"No one's going to let you die again, okay? Trust me," Ben walked with them. Cole managed to nod a little.</p><p>"No one's dying on my watch," Ben added, glancing back at Jay and his love.</p><p>"B-Ben..." Cole caught his boyfriend's attention, "If I d-don't make it... just remember I l-love you, kay?"</p><p>Ben nodded, "You <em>will </em>make it."</p><p>Jay quickly held the short raven haired girl's hand tight.</p><p>"Nya, don't die on me, please, you're gonna be okay," Jay panicked a little. Looking at her in so much pain broken his heart into tiny glass shards. She could barely move.</p><p>Jay leaned down and kissed her on the forehead quickly, "I love you to the moon and back."</p><p>The last two stretchers were taken away. Jay still wandered after the one containing his significant other.</p><p>"Take care of her!" Jay called out to the doctor, "She's my fiancé."</p><p>Ben stood beside Jay as the emergency room door closed. The Kitsune placed a hand on the lightning ninja's shoulder.</p><p>Another doctor came out of nowhere and directed their attention away from their loved ones for a moment.</p><p>"You two need to head down to the room on the right to get checked over," They spoke.</p><p>They both nodded and rushed down the corridor to the room where they were told to go.</p><p>
  <em>What the heck happened?!</em>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The two boys got checked over, which took about an hour. They waited in silence, desperately waiting to hear any good news. They couldn't bare to hear anything else. Especially something sad. They'd already been through too much. The nurses didn't like how quiet they were. Why wouldn't they be quiet? One of their most beloved friends and family could've passed away at any point in time, they could just relax. It wasn't easy.</p><p>The boys didn't have any serious injuries, thank goodness. They had a few cuts and bruises at the most. Nothing life threatening.</p><p>After waiting <em>another </em>hour, a doctor finally arrived in the room to tell them about the patients.</p><p>"Is everyone okay?!" Ben exclaimed, impatient.</p><p>"I'm afraid I do have some bad news," He responded.</p><p>"Which is?" Jay was sat on the edge of his seat.</p><p>"Well, I'll give you an overview of everyone and how they are doing," He told them, "Jessie, Misako, Libber, Jake, Zane, Lloyd, Sabrina and Lou are all going to be okay. They don't have any major life threatening injuries. They should be recovering very soon."</p><p>The boys breathed a sigh of relief. At least they knew they weren't going to lose <em>everyone</em>. Jay gulped, remembering that his love's name wasn't mentioned and neither was his parents' or brother's.</p><p>"Kai has broken his left leg but should be fine soon. Wu has broken an arm. Tox and Hayley have a few broken ribs. Both Cole and Nya have slipped into comas," He explained.</p><p>"Comas?!" Jay exclaimed worriedly.</p><p>"Cole..." Ben sounded concerned.</p><p>"They should be fine," He gave them a reassuring smile.</p><p>"Wait, what about my parents?" Jay sat forward again, his eyebrows creased with worry. Ben also wanted to hear how they were doing.</p><p>"Since they are older, their body works slower than everyone else's. They also are not as active so they've suffered some of the most serious injuries," He told them.</p><p>"What do you mean? Are they okay?!" Jay panicked.</p><p>"They've been put on life support," The doctor began but was cut off.</p><p>"LIFE SUPPORT?!" Jay shouted in worry.</p><p>"I'm sure they're fine Jay," Ben told him, trying to be supportive.</p><p>"HOW CAN THEY BE '<em>fine' </em>IF THEY'RE HAVING TO USE LIFE SUPPORT?!" Jay yelled in Ben's face.</p><p>"As long as they keep recovering and going the way that they are going, they should be fine," The doctor told him.</p><p>Jay calmed down a bit, trying to keep his cool and not worry too much.</p><p>"What about Skylor?" Ben wondered, "She was in the worst state when she came in."</p><p>The doctor glanced at the floor before clearing his throat, "I'm so sorry but she didn't make it."</p><p>Jay sat back in his chair, his heart pounding. He couldn't believe it.</p><p>"Skylor..." Ben sighed, upset about losing someone. He may not have known her very well but she seemed really cool and a really close friend of the ninja team.</p><p>The doctor payed his respects and left them in the room together. Ben sat forward, burying his head in his hands.</p><p>"None of this makes sense," Jay spoke up after a minute.</p><p>"The party was supposed to be fun and welcoming but it turned to s**t," Ben groaned, "And now they're all suffering."</p><p>"If I could swap places with any of them, I would do it in a heartbeat," Jay sighed.</p><p>"Me too, especially with Cole," A small single tear trickled down Ben's cheek.</p><p>"How did this happen? Why to us?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"Because we're cursed," Ben glanced at the blue ninja, "Everyone has it out for us because we're the good guys."</p><p>"But no one else knew about the party..." Jay stared at the floor.</p><p>"What are you saying?" Ben frowned.</p><p>"I think we have a snake on our hands," Jay folded his arms.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Match in the Rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>Flashback</em>
  </b>
</p><p>First to approach Jay was Ed and Edna.</p><p>"Mom! Dad!" He beamed, hugging them almost instantly.</p><p>"We're so happy to have you back, son," Ed told him.</p><p>"You didn't deserve to be locked up like that," Edna added.</p><p>"Thanks mom and dad," Jay smiled.</p><p>Libber then came up from behind.</p><p>"Mom!" Jay exclaimed, "You aren't wearing your cast!"</p><p>"My leg's getting better," She smiled at him.</p><p>He quickly pulled her into a hug, "How are you after, you know..."</p><p>"I'm good. Better than I was anyway," She told him, booping him on the nose, which made him giggle.</p><p>"Everyone is here," Jay noticed, glancing around the room, "Well those who could make it."</p><p>"Yep. And it was all Kai's idea too," She smiled.</p><p>Jay glanced over at his fiery friend, who was busy dancing around with other guests. Jay grinned.</p><p>"He loves parties," Jay joked.</p><p>Libber nodded, "I think we all knew that."</p><p>After chatting with another few guests, Jay decided to join his friends in a karaoke session. The ninja had never been great at singing but the lightning ninja had a secret talent. He always loved to sing but always deliberately sung terribly in front of his friends and family. Sometimes when he was alone, he would hum gently to himself. </p><p>Cole chose the song and stood up on the imaginary stage. He dreamed of this moment for his entire life. Kai, Lloyd, Zane, Jay and Nya joined him, taking their own microphones that were hooked up to the karaoke machine. The other guests directed their attention to the ninja team, excited to see what they could do. </p><p>The song soon started; it was their favourite song, The Weekend Whip. The guests clapped and cheered as the team started jamming out to the song. Before the words kicked in, Cole glanced at his beaming boyfriend on the other side of the room. He was stood alone in the corner. </p><p>It was awkward for Ben as he had hurt almost everyone in that very room and he didn't know where he stood with them. He was enjoying himself nevertheless. </p><p>Cole waved his hand at Ben, encouraging him to join them, "Ben, come join us."</p><p>Ben grinned and headed over to them. Kai handed the boy a spare microphone. </p><p>They sang their heart away, Jay quietly singing in his <em>real </em>voice. It made him nervous but was trying to get used to it. No one really heard it, which made him feel comfortable. Lloyd, however, could hear as he had great hearing and passed a secret message round to the other members of the team. As it was reaching towards the end of the song and the chorus was about to kick in again for the last time, the team stopped, leaving Jay to belt out the line bringing them back into the infamous chorus. He instantly went red and he saw that he was the only one singing. </p><p>"Jay!" Kai exclaimed, shocked.</p><p>"What the heck man!?!" Cole smiled.</p><p>"Your singing voice is incredible!" Nya told him.</p><p>Jay blushed as his face turned a bright red from the embarrassment, "Sorry..."</p><p>The team quickly continued with the song before it ended. A few of the other guests also joined in and they continued singing the night away. Jay loved being home. </p><p>It was getting rather late now and a <em>certain guest</em> decided to confront Cole.</p><p>"Cole?" </p><p>Cole turned around to see Hayley with a smile on her face.</p><p>"It's Hayley, isn't it?" He questioned. She nodded.</p><p>"How are you?" She asked awkwardly.</p><p>"Good, actually," He smiled, "How are you?"</p><p>She cleared her throat, "I actually wanted to tell you something."</p><p>Cole was intrigued. She looked rather determined.</p><p>"I'm your sister," She beamed.</p><p>Cole frowned, "My... sister?" </p><p>She nodded, "Twin to be precise."</p><p>Cole stepped back, shocked.</p><p>"Father... he gave you and Jay away but had decided to keep me. He sent me off to law school as soon as I was old enough," She explained.</p><p>"Wow... I guess there's lots that I don't know," He said awkwardly. She smiled at him.</p><p>"Everyone? Can I have your attention please," Jay's voice spoke up. Everyone directed their attention to the blue ninja.</p><p>He knew it was cheesy but he wanted to make a speech. He'd been through so much and met so many new people so he at least wanted to thank them properly.</p><p>"I just want to thank you all for coming and making me feel welcomed again. This past months have been an emotional rollercoaster, not only for me but for everyone in this room," Jay began, "So much has happened."</p><p>Jay replayed some of the most thrilling and horrific moments in his head. He didn't really mind it. </p><p>"First, there was Nya's allergy," Jay grinned, remembering how dramatic he'd been when he found out.</p><p>"Let's not discuss that," Nya rolled her eyes playfully.</p><p>"And then Nadakhan's return," Jay continued, "Finding all that stuff out about my past with mom, Sabrina, dad..."</p><p>Cliff bothered Jay. Not in <em>that </em>way but in the way as if he missed him. They used to be so close and then... everything changed. He took in a breath of fresh air to try and relax.</p><p>"All that drama with Nya's being Ben's <em>girlfriend,</em>" Jay grinned.</p><p>Ben cringed at the memory, Nya laughed.</p><p>"Don't forget Ben wanting revenge," Jay giggled sweetly.</p><p>"Yeah, can we not?" Ben sighed.</p><p>Jay smiled, "both Cole and I's pretty dramatic deaths. My recovery, Cole's funeral, the media spreading lies, my... y'know... self harming..."</p><p>"We're proud of how far you've come!" Jessie called out, causing Jay to smile even more.</p><p>"D.F," Jay beamed.</p><p>Cole laughed, "Some of the best moments of my life."</p><p>"Only because you teased me so much," Kai pouted, causing Cole to laugh evilly.</p><p>"Nadakhan returning <em>again</em>, all thanks to Ben's betrayal part 2," Jay joked.</p><p>"Oh come on, can't you talk about anything else?" Ben rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Wanting to do all that damage to us. Not to mention D.F's reveal," Jay continued, "Finishing all that stuff with Ben. And then losing dad, all those police investigations, me being framed, <em>Cole and Ben,</em> and me coming home!" </p><p>"You missed quite a bit," Lloyd replied, coughing a little.</p><p>"I can't keep track of it all, okay?" Jay complained.</p><p>"Well hopefully its all over now. There are no more threats to us at the moment," Edna stated, holding on to her husband's hand. He nodded.</p><p>"I just really want to thank you guys for the endless support," Jay told his family and friends, "It really means the world to me."</p><p>"We'll always be here for you," Tox grinned.</p><p>Jay smiled brightly.</p><p>"Is this stupid speech over yet?" Kai joked.</p><p>"Actually..." Jay glanced down at the floor awkwardly, "There's someone I <em>really </em>need to thank."</p><p>The room exchanged looks, expecting it to be Ben or Cole. Jay held his hand out for his girlfriend to take.</p><p>"I know I'm not the best person and I'm probably so stubborn, annoying and inconsistent, but I'm honestly so grateful to have you by my side. You've been there for me since the beginning and I don't know how to ever thank you enough. You literally mean the world to me and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," Jay told her.</p><p>Nya beamed, "I love you so much, you stupid nerd."</p><p>The guests in the room laughed as the two hugged. As they pulled apart, Jay held Nya's hands tight.</p><p>"I can't provide you with everything that you need but I can be here for you no matter what. Things will always get in the way of us but one thing's certain. Our love is undeniable," Jay smiled, "That's why I can't wait any longer. I can't take any more risks."</p><p>Nya frowned, glancing at her nervous lover. </p><p>Jay reached into his pocket and took out his grandfather's pocket watch. Everyone watched, confused as to what he was going. Jay opened it up to see something round with a blue diamond on it. It was a silver <em>ring</em>.</p><p>Jay let go of Nya's hands and knelt down on one knee. Guests started to gasp, smiles on their faces. Was he doing what he thought they were doing? Kai raised his eyebrows at the lightning ninja as Ed and Edna watched in awe. Cole and Ben stepped to the side so the people behind them could see, their fingers intertwined.</p><p>"Yes, I'm a dork, and I'm super cheesy, but I don't know if I can possibly live any longer without you being mine <em>forever</em>," Jay told her, smiling, "So... Nya Smith, will you possibly marry me?"</p><p>Without thinking, Nya exclaimed "Yes!".  Everyone began to cheer and clap as Jay slipped the beautiful ring on his <em>fiancé's </em>finger. He stood up, tears of happiness streaming down his cheeks. Nya pulled Jay into a huge, tight hug as she, too, cried with joy. She never imagined anything like this happening. The fact that they were still quite young and were truly <em>in love </em>made everything seem so surreal. After a few moments, they dried their tears as Nya glanced down at her new accessory happily. This was everything she ever wanted. </p><p>Zane's head quickly darted around the room, a look of confusion on his face. This alarmed some of the guests.</p><p>"Zane, is everything okay?" Lloyd wondered.</p><p>Everyone fixed their eyes on the Nindroid.</p><p>"Does anyone else hear that?" He frowned.</p><p>The room went silent, trying to listen to whatever Zane could hear. After a few moments, they were able to hear something in the distance. </p><p>
  <em>Tick... tick... tick...</em>
</p><p>"It sounds like a ticking," Skylor pointed out.</p><p>"Ticking?" Jake questioned.</p><p>"Can you scan, Zane?" Jay asked him, remembering he was their new leader.</p><p>The room went silent again. Zane's eyes turned an even brighter blue and he scanned the sound for a few moments. His eyes returned to normal and he glanced at his teammates.</p><p>"That ticking noise is usually associated with bombs," Zane told them innocently.</p><p>Looks of shock and worry shot around the room. </p><p>"Did you just say <em>bomb</em>?" Jessie questioned, her voice shaking.</p><p>"A bomb?!" Ben exclaimed, confusion filling his body.</p><p>"Why would there be a bomb here?" Lou questioned.</p><p>"I doubt there's actually a bomb," Kai folded his arms.</p><p>"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!" Libber screamed, catching everyone's attention.</p><p>"I'm sure it's nothing," Ben headed over to the door to the corridor, where the noise was coming from, "I'll check it out and when I return, I'll tell you exactly what it is."</p><p>Everyone in the room felt a little nervous and panicked. What if it really was a bomb? What would they do? How much time did they have until it went off?</p><p>"I'll come with you," Cole told him, concerned about what his boyfriend was doing.</p><p>Cole was the sort of person who <em>loved </em>jumping in to something he didn't know the danger of. Those sorts of risks didn't bother him. Except this time it was different. This could've been a huge risk and if his boyfriend was stood in the middle of the danger zone, he didn't want to be the one to see him in pain. So why not go with him so they'd <em>both </em>be in significant danger? </p><p>The two boys left everyone in the room and wandered down the corridor. They had to admit, they were a little scared of what they would find. It could've been anything. </p><p>They listened closely to where the ticking noise was coming from. It was getting louder the further they travelled down the corridor. Ben suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.</p><p>"There," He turned and pointed at Jay's bedroom door.</p><p>"In there?" Cole questioned, a look of worry on his face.</p><p>"I've got good hearing," Ben told him before reaching for the bedroom door.</p><p>Cole felt his heart skip a beat. But not in a good way. </p><p>He slowly pushed open the door, glancing around the room before entering. Then after a few seconds, he stepped in quietly, trying not to make any sudden movements. Usually any sudden movements would make bombs go off; that's if it <em>was </em>a bomb.</p><p>They continued looking around the room in silence. Ben stopped dead, reaching for Cole's arm. This caught the earth ninja's attention and he glanced over at where his lover was looking. His eyes widened, he felt like the whole world had stopped spinning for a moment.</p><p>"It's... it's..." Cole stuttered.</p><p>Ben rushed to the door and swung his head round it into the corridor.</p><p>"IT'S A BOMB! IT'S A BOMB!" Ben shouted, catching everyone's attention.</p><p>He heard some commotion coming from the main room, befogging instantly turning around and heading back into the room. He rushed straight up to the explosive and read the time on screen.</p><p>"Ben, get back from that thing! We need to get out of here now!" Cole exclaimed to his boyfriend.</p><p>"There won't be enough time to get everyone out safely! There's 20 seconds left!" Ben shouted, fiddling with some of the wires on the bomb.</p><p>"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!" Cole shouted, standing by the door, desperate to get out of the place after knowing that there was very limited time left. But he refused to leave his boyfriend.</p><p>"Trying to disarm it," Ben tried to focus.</p><p>"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Cole yelled, his voice going a little more high pitched than usual.</p><p>"I think I might be," Ben responded sarcastically, still playing with the wires and trying to figure out which did what, "If you let me concentrate, I can disarm this thing before it goes off."</p><p>"BEN! LET'S GO! NOW!" Cole screamed, shaking to the core. He felt like he was going to pass out from how stressed he was and how fast his heart was beating. It pretty much ripped out his chest.</p><p>Ben ignored his boyfriend and continued messing with the wiring, hoping he could stop it in time...</p><p>There was constant panic and confusion and shock and just general stress coming from the main room. How big was the bomb? How dangerous was it? Was it fake? Jay glanced around at the panicking guests, trying to think. It was hard.</p><p>"Everyone, just calm down, panicking won't solve anything," Jay told them relatively calmly. Of course, he was panicking so much inside his head at that moment. He tightly held onto his fiancé's hand, hoping for the best.</p><p>"What are we supposed to do?!" Libber exclaimed, worried for her life.</p><p>"We need to get out of here, calmly, okay?" Jay told everyone. </p><p>Meanwhile, the time was ticking down quickly. Time was running out.</p><p>7...</p><p>"Ben, seriously, come on!" Cole shouted, watching the time tick down to its final seconds.</p><p>"Let me concentrate, Cole!" Ben told him, trying to remember what he had learnt from defusing bombs before. It was a <em>loooong </em>story. They clearly didn't have time to hear that right now. </p><p>6...</p><p>"YOU'RE F**KING CRAZY! YOU COULD DIE!!" Cole screamed.</p><p>"LET ME F**KING FOCUS AND YOU <em>WON'T</em> DIE!" Ben snapped back, getting very agitated. </p><p>5...</p><p>Cole began to panic even more. The last thing he wanted right now was for him or anyone he loved to die. He'd already lost too much. That couldn't happen again. It just couldn't. </p><p>"Ben, please, you're going to regret this, believe me, let's just go," Cole told him quickly.</p><p>4...</p><p>Ben ignored his boyfriend, blocking out the sound of his voice.</p><p>"It's not worth it," Cole raised his voice</p><p>3...</p><p>"COME ON," Cole shouted.</p><p>2...</p><p>His brain was telling him to run and run and run and not turn back but his heart was telling him to drag Ben out of there as fast as the wind. But did he have time? If he didn't go now, he'd <em>die. </em>He did the first thing he thought of doing without any hesitation.</p><p>1...</p><p>"BEN!" Cole lunged forward, jumping on top of his boyfriend and sending them both to the soft ground of Jay's bedroom floor. Cole was on top of Ben, his arms wrapped around him, proving as much protection as possible. Using his <em>evolved</em> powers, he created a deep orange shield around his boyfriend, panicking so much that he couldn't cover <em>himself.</em></p><p>0...</p><p>20 minutes had passed since <em>it </em>happened. The bomb hadn't been defused in time. It had exploded right in that very room, catching everyone in the premises. The Bounty was completely <em>destroyed.</em></p><p>In the main room, many bodies lay on the floor in pain. Most weren't moving. Except one. A small head raised from the corner of the room, furthest away from the bomb. There were cuts and bruises all around his face. His bright blue eyes darted around the room as he gently and slowly sat up. His ears rung from the eerily silence. </p><p>He panicked, looking at all the people he loved that were in pain. </p><p>
  <em>No... how could I let this happen... I was supposed to protect them. I'm the leader, the protector. And I've screwed everything up.</em>
</p><p>"No, no, no, no, no," He panicked, his heart beating fast. His partner laid by his side. She was pretty much unconscious. </p><p>He grabbed a piece of broken wood that had fallen from the ceiling next to him and pushed himself up, his ankle hurting a little. He gasped at such a horrid sight.</p><p>"W-What do I do?! Come on Jay, think," He panicked, "CALL AN AMBULANCE! That's what any normal person would do! Come on Jay, you've got this."</p><p>The blue ninja took his phone out of his back pocket, the screen now cracked. He struggled to dial the emergency number.</p><p>In the other room, Cole laid on top of Ben, almost unconscious too. Ben's eyes opened slowly. He glanced around him and realised there was something heavy on top of him. He slowly and carefully pushed whatever it was off him, his boyfriend dropping down by his side. He gasped at the sight of his boyfriend in the most pain imaginable.</p><p>"Cole!" Ben exclaimed, placing one of his hands on Cole's cheek. Cole didn't move.</p><p>Without a second thought, he checked his boyfriend's pulse, scared that he was gone. After a few moments, he felt a faint heartbeat, a sigh of relief releasing from his body. At least he wasn't dead. But Ben was confused. How was Cole hurt and not <em>him</em>?</p><p>But the most important question was... what was a bomb doing in there in the first place? <em>Who </em>had put the dangerous explosive there in the first place? </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. I'm not a cynic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"And that's everything that happened?" The Police Commissioner asked the two boys sat opposite him.</p><p>They both nodded, staying silent. They didn't really feel like saying much. It was all mostly a blur.</p><p>"Did you notice anyone acting suspicious?" He wondered.</p><p>Jay and Ben glanced at each other with wondering looks. They glanced back at the P.C and shook their heads.</p><p>"I didn't really think that anyone would do such a thing," Jay sighed.</p><p>"We don't even know if it was someone at the party," Ben reminded him.</p><p>"But you told me that Master Wu and Misako had been there even before you guys had left to go to Blackwood Forest. Surely if someone had broken in, they'd know about it. They have good senses," Jay told him, a stern look on his face.</p><p>Ben shrugged, "Who says it was then? Maybe someone broke in when they knew no one was there. Perhaps when we all set out on our little side quests for the day. No one was at the Bounty to guard it."</p><p>Jay sighed, staring at his hands, "So that just takes us one step back. How are we supposed to figure out who it is?"</p><p>"That job is up to me," The P.C spoke up, noting down everything the boys were saying, "You two need to stay here and make sure your loved ones are safe and well."</p><p>Ben nodded, Jay sighed again.</p><p>"I just want to find out who did this," Jay replied, a look of defeat on his face.</p><p>"The police department and I will try our hardest and take extremely close looks at the crime scene, okay? We <em>will </em>find out what happened whether it takes us weeks or months," He told them.</p><p>Jay looked up with a fake smile of gratefulness, "Thank you."</p><p>"No problem. If I have any news, you two will be the first to know," He replied, getting up from his seat. Ben also stood up and shook his hand. He saw him out the door of the waiting room in the hospital, where they had been all night long, and sighed as he turned to face Jay.</p><p>Jay didn't know what to say anymore. He was speechless. He knew people had it out for him and the ninja but this... this was on a whole other level. Who in their right minds would do such a thing as to blow up 19 people and their home?! Some sick psychopath obviously. Even thinking about it made the master of lightning feel sick.</p><p>"There's so much that doesn't make sense to me," Jay finally stated, his voice was quiet and shaky.</p><p>"It's all my fault that Cole's hurt," Ben sighed, sitting back in his chair and slumping down.</p><p>Jay frowned, "What do you mean?"</p><p>"I thought I could disarm the bomb. I've done stuff like that before. Cole had warned me that there wasn't enough time and I was being stupid. He told me that I was risking his life and that I should've just gotten out of there whilst I had the chance. I didn't listen to him and now Cole's hurt," The teen explained.</p><p>"Cole could've easily left, y'know," Jay told him, shocked at the fact that Ben risked his life to try and save everyone that previous night.</p><p>"But he didn't because he didn't want to leave me. And as it got down to the final second, he jumped on top of me to protect me. But I don't get how he got hurt and I didn't. We were in the same room as the explosive and the others were hurt more than I was," Ben frowned, trying to come up with some possible way that made sense.</p><p>"A shield," Jay spoke up.</p><p>Ben glanced up at him with a look of confusion, "What?"</p><p>"Ever since Cole and I evolved, we've been able to make strong force fields. It depends how strong you are with your new powers that will determine the size of your shield. He shielded you," Jay explained.</p><p>Ben frowned, "He... protected me?"</p><p>Jay nodded, "But I'm also confused... I, too, wasn't hurt that much. Yet, the people around me were. I was never shielded."</p><p>Ben shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sure we'll find out when everyone is well."</p><p>Jay sighed and sat back in his chair again. He wasn't ready to admit defeat but he definitely wasn't feeling too great. It was his job as the leader to protect the people he cared about and he didn't. Instead, they were in hospital beds fighting for their lives. When Lloyd was leader, none of that happened.</p><p>
  <em>I'm the worst leader...</em>
</p><p>"I was supposed to lead them and keep them calm. I was supposed to make sure they were safe but I didn't get them out in time and now my parents are using life support, my soon-to-be-wife and brother are in comas, multiple people are suffering mild injuries and broken bones, and Skylor is..." He stopped as he bit his Iip, his eyes filling with tears.</p><p>He'd failed <em>everyone</em></p><p>"Don't blame yourself, Jay, it's not your fault. And whoever is responsible for putting that bomb there in the first place <em>will </em>pay. They should know not to mess with us," Ben reassured him.</p><p>Jay nodded and took in a breath of fresh air. He dried his tears and smiled a little, trying to keep positive, "Yeah, you're right. Maybe I'm just overreacting."</p><p>"It's okay to be worried. I'm worried too. But we need to stay strong for them. We need to be there for them," Ben smiled back.</p><p>Jay nodded, "I'm going to go and see some of them. Coming?"</p><p>Ben thought for a second, "I'm going to go and see Cole."</p><p> </p><p>Jay wandered down the corridor after checking with the doctor at the reception desk what the room numbers were. He was given a whole list. He glanced over it, trying to remember the injuries each person had. Most people shared rooms but there were a few that didn't. But the room he was going to first had two people in. </p><p>He glanced through the window of the room and grinned as he saw his friends. He opened the door, catching the two's attention. On one of side of the room, lay Kai in a bed with a huge cast around his leg. On the other side of the room, Lloyd was sat upright on the bed, his legs crossed. As soon as the two saw their friend, they beamed.</p><p>"Jay!" Lloyd exclaimed happily.</p><p>"Finally, a sight for sore eyes," Kai breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>"I'm so glad you two are okay," Jay smiled, closing the door to the room.</p><p>"Says you! You're up and walking around," Lloyd joked.</p><p>"You're sat up straight," Jay replied playfully.</p><p>The lightning ninja was glad that he could finally talk to them. He had been so worried and to know that they were safe and <em>breathing </em>took a huge weight off his chest. He needed some good news.</p><p>"I'm feeling much better. Turns out the shock had made me pass out after the explosion," Lloyd stated awkwardly.</p><p>Jay glanced at Kai's broken leg, "Nice leg."</p><p>Kai glared, "Jee, thanks."</p><p>"How's everyone else?" Lloyd wondered.</p><p>"Yeah, is Nya okay?!" Kai exclaimed, trying to sit up a little but only being met with the pain his leg was feeling.</p><p>"Um..." Jay glanced at the floor sadly, "She's... in a coma."</p><p>"A WHAT?!" Kai shouted.</p><p>"But the doctor told us that she will be fine," Jay added quickly.</p><p>"<em>Us</em>?" Lloyd questioned.</p><p>"Ben also turned out okay. I didn't even realise that he was in the same state I was in until we both got to the hospital," Jay explained.</p><p>"Wait what? That makes no sense. How is <em>Ben </em>okay? He was in the same room as the dangerous thing!" Kai frowned.</p><p>"We think that Cole shielded him," Jay responded.</p><p>"Shielded? Aw that's sweet but how is hugging him tightly going to stop him from-" Lloyd began.</p><p>Jay jumped in, "No, I mean a <em>literal </em>shield. Evolving means that we can create shields."</p><p>"Ohhh," Lloyd's eyes widened, "That's super cool!"</p><p>"Damn, now I wanna evolve," Kai pouted, crossing his arms.</p><p>Jay smiled, "I really needed to hear some good news today. Thanks for cheering me up guys."</p><p>"What other bad news was there?" Kai asked him, his eyebrows creased with worry slightly.</p><p>Jay sighed, "Cole is also in a coma and my parents are on life support."</p><p>"Life support? Oh, Jay, I'm so sorry," Lloyd spoke up, a worried tone of voice.</p><p>Jay smiled at Lloyd, grateful for the support.</p><p>"Is everyone else okay?" Kai wondered.</p><p>"Everyone has mild injuries and should be fine. Well all except..." He paused and gulped, "Skylor."</p><p>"Skylor?" Kai's eyes lit up.</p><p>Jay nodded, "She... uh... she didn't make it..."</p><p>Kai leaned back on the bed, his heart sinking through his chest, "W-what?"</p><p>Lloyd sighed, "Poor Skylor... she didn't deserve that."</p><p>"I know..." Jay sighed, "I just want to make sure everyone is okay, that's all."</p><p>Kai still sat there in shock and sadness. Although he never fully admitted it, he always liked Skylor and not just as a friend. And he was pretty sure that she felt the same way. He was too much of a chicken to ever tell her. Now he regretted it. </p><p>"Where's Ben?" Lloyd wondered, trying to lighten the mood.</p><p>"He's with Cole," Jay replied.</p><p>"Have you been to see Nya?" The green ninja questioned his blue friend.</p><p>Jay shook his head, "I don't know if I can face seeing her so hurt... I don't know if I can take it..."</p><p>"You're an idiot!" Kai exclaimed angrily, "I thought you loved Nya!"</p><p>"Of course I do!" Jay replied, surprised by Kai's sudden outburst after a minute of silence from him.</p><p>"Then why are you with us and not with her?! If you <em>really </em>loved her, you'd be with her without a second thought. She needs all the help and support that she can get right now and the only person I know that can give that to her is you. So quit chatting s**t with us and GO BE WITH NYA," Kai snapped.</p><p>Jay was a little taken back by what Kai had said. Jay had only been thinking of himself and how broken he'd be if he saw her but as much as he hated to admit it, the fire ninja was right. He always thought about his sister first and it was time Jay did the same. He needed to be there for her no matter what. </p><p>Jay nodded and said goodbye to the boys for now before leaving the room. He wandered down the corridor towards the end and spotted the door to the room he <em>needed </em>to go in. He slowly turned to peer through the window at his sleeping fiancé. She looked so peaceful yet he knew that she was in pain. He took a deep breath and headed inside. It was quiet except for the sound of the machines next to the hospital bed beeping away. That made him a little more calm as he knew that she was breathing. That was <em>her </em>heartbeat being monitored. </p><p>After taking a moment to take in his surroundings, he sat down in the comfortable blue chair next to the bed. He watched as his soulmate's chest slowly lifted up and down... up and down... up and down... it was calming. A tear formed in his eye. </p><p>"Nya..." He whispered softly. The pain in his voice was something that would send shivers down your spine. He was truly <em>broken. </em></p><p>He took another minute to compose himself before glancing back at her. Her eyes were shut, a blank expression on her face. He'd never seen her like that before. Her hair looked so shiny and silky, he just wanted to brush his fingers through it. Her skin looked so fair and smooth. It was truly something special. </p><p>Taking in the moment, he slowly reached for Nya's hand that was next to her side. He flinched for a second, pulling his hand back.</p><p>
  <em>No Jay... you have to do this... she needs you now more than ever... if you really loved her, you'd hold her hand.</em>
</p><p>Jay reached again, this time he gently placed a finger on her soft skin for a brief moment before picking up her hand and placing his hand in hers. He held onto it tight, obviously knowing that she wouldn't hold it back. </p><p>"I'm so sorry," He cried softly, still keeping quiet.</p><p>He didn't even know if Nya could hear him but even if she wasn't, he didn't care. He was just glad that she was safe and in his sight. He had been scared of seeing her this way and he was right... it made him weak to see her like this but she needed him and he was going to be there whether he liked it or not. </p><p>"I've been a selfish idiot..." He murmured, caressing the top of her left hand softly with his thumb. It's like he'd never been in so much pain before in his life. </p><p>"And I don't know if you can hear me but," Jay spoke between soft cries, "I love you and I'll always be here for you. Just please, <em>please,</em> don't leave me..."</p><p>He knew it was hopeless to open up to someone who wouldn't even be listening but he needed to get it off his chest somehow and speaking with someone else... it just wasn't the same. </p><p>"I've felt so lonely lately," He began quietly, "Not because I was locked up for days but because... I feel like I'm drifting away from everyone. Especially you... I feel like I've been a failure. Even Cole... I feel like I'm less of his brother and more of another random person in his life. I really don't understand why Lloyd made me leader either. Everything has turned to s**t since I've been in charge. Everyone's hurt because of my actions. Because I couldn't protect you guys. Because I couldn't protect <em>you.</em> I'm so sorry."</p><p>Jay couldn't help but cry. All he ever felt was pain. Ever since he was born... It was like he was cursed. Every time he felt happy, it was snatched away from him like candy from a baby. That's how easy it was. Jay didn't know how much more of it he could take. His life was a living nightmare. </p><p>"I'm a f**ked up train wreck and I don't know what to do..." Jay cried, "I just want to be happy for once... I'm sick of losing people... I'm sick of being locked away from society... I'm sick of <em>myself</em>... I just want to feel <em>normal</em> for once."</p><p>Jay looked down at the floor, his tears falling into his lap. Just as Jay thought he was more useless than ever, he felt a small, subtle squeeze on his hand. He looked up at the hospital bed quickly, glancing at Nya. She was still fast asleep in her coma but yet she had managed to <em>squeeze his hand</em>. Maybe Jay had been wrong. Maybe she could hear after all. </p><p>Now, Jay didn't feel completely hopeless. At least he knew he had one consistent thing in his life. <em>The endless support from his friends and family. </em>He finally realised that his life wasn't a <em>complete </em>nightmare just like he had seen it. He had people that cared about him. And whatever was thrown his way, they helped him through it. They were always there for him. And he couldn't be more grateful. Maybe the universe didn't <em>completely </em>hate him after all. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Lost in the Moment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"I know that we're losing customers, Edna, but I'm trying my best," The slightly older man stated, stress in his voice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We're getting low on money, Ed, and if we don't pay our rent this month, we'll lose the junk yard," Edna told him, a worried expression on her face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed reached forward and took her hand gently. He looked up at her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We won't lose this place, I promise," He told his wife.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She sighed and nodded. No matter how much she trusted her husband, she knew that there would still be a high possibility of losing her home. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The couple were getting older as they were now reaching their 40's and yet they were both so weak. They knew many, many other people the same age as them that were strong still but they had always been weak. They both had complications with their bodies that made them unable to do a lot of things. But they pushed on. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They were losing customers fast and they were also running out of money, meaning they were becoming poor. They were worried of this happening. Their main dream when they first got together was to have a nice family home and start a proper family yet they couldn't. It was too late now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I will make sure that we have a home, a business, food, water and clothes, okay? I won't let us go bankrupt," Ed assured her. He was determined.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She smiled, "Thank you, Ed."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No problem," He returned the smile, lifting her mood.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>All of a sudden there was a loud knock at the door of their small caravan. They were a little uneasy at first because they thought it could've been the company that owned the land but they  gained enough courage to answer the door in the end.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna wandered up to it and pulled the handle down before opening it. She peeped her head round to see no one stood there. She turned to her husband with a frown on her face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"There's no one here," She stated.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed wandered up to her and glanced around outside, instantly spotting a small basket on their doorstep.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What about that?" He questioned. Edna tilted her head, wondering what it was. She kneeled down to take a look, Ed instantly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It could be dangerous," He sounded concerned.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna nodded, "I know but it could be something important."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed sighed and let her continued. She kneeled back down again to see a fluffy blue blanket covering the top of the wooden basket. It did look rather strange.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What's inside?" Ed wondered.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna slowly placed her fingers on the top of the blanket and pulled it down slightly so that she could peek at what was underneath. She gasped and instantly threw the blanket back over, stepping back from the basket.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What?! What is it?!" Ed exclaimed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's-- it's--" Edna paused, pointing at the basket. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed frowned and kneeled down to where his wife had been just moments before. His head was telling him to leave it but he was intrigued. He moved the blanket slightly, also gasping as he stood up. The basket was still a little uncovered, revealing a small baby looking up at the older couple with a look of innocence on its face. The child had bright blue eyes and small freckles on its pale face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What the--" Ed started, a little spooked at the small being just turning up on their doorstep.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's... a baby..?" Edna questioned, a confused expression on her face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The two continued to stare at the child for a few moments. The little human smiled brightly at them, causing them both to grin. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Aw, its so cute!" Edna exclaimed happily, her heart melting at the sight of the cute child.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed's smile faded, "But what is a baby doing on our doorstep?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I don't know but it's completely adorable!" Edna beamed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed peeped his head round the door to look at the surroundings outside. There was no one around.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Someone must've put it here," Ed suggested, a little concerned for the child.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Let's bring it inside," Edna told him. Ed slowly bent down and picked up the basket. The child continued to smile brightly at the older man. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna closed the door as Ed wandered inside with the basket and placed it on the small, cheap dining table. They stood there staring at it for a moment.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey there little guy," Ed greeted the little human.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The child's facial expression changed quickly, a look of upset on its face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh no! You made it sad!" Edna exclaimed, "Well done, Ed."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I didn't do anything wrong!" Ed told her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I wonder who left it on our doorstep. Do you think they did it on purpose?" Edna wondered.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, because someone would leave a child on our doorstep accidentally, won't they?" Ed replied sarcastically.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna smiled at the small child that now had tears in its eyes. It made her heart melt even more. Sure, she'd seen children and babies before but not one that looked like this. She already felt a connected with the little being.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Do you think I could pick it up?" Edna asked her husband. He was hesitant at first and but nodded.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She slowly reached her arms out and placed her hands on the child's waist. She lifted it up out of the basket and held it close to her. It looked a lot happier now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed frowned at the inside of the basket, "There's a letter."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Ooh, read it, read it," Edna told him excitedly, looking down at the small child in her arms.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed picked up the letter and opened it. It smelled of lavender perfume. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It says, 'Dear Ed and Edna Walker, this is my son, Jay. He was only recently born but my husband and I have decided that we cannot look after him. For his own safety, we've had to leave him with you. I really hope that you can take care of him and give him everything he needs. He is a very special child. It's okay if you can't, I just want him to be with a caring and loving family. Signed, Libber Gordon.'" Ed read aloud.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna frowned, "Gordon? As in Cliff Gordon the movie star?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I guess so..." Ed sighed, "And this Libber person wants us to look after her son."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That's... crazy," Edna's eyes widened. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What are we supposed to do? We barely have enough money as it is," Ed pointed out.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna looked down at the small child that had a grin on his face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We can't just leave him. He's counting on us," Edna spoke.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed sighed, "So what do you suggest we do?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I think we should raise him," She responded.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We can barely look after himself! And a junk yard is no place to raise a child," Ed complained.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But we've always wanted to start a family. This is the perfect opportunity. Besides, his parents have trusted us of all people. We can do it. Just look at his adorable face," Edna smiled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ed thought about it for a moment. She was right for once.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Okay, okay... we'll raise him," Ed sighed in defeat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Edna beamed, "Don't worry little Jay, we'll take care of you from now on."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The lightning ninja glanced up at this sleeping parents. They weren't in the same state as Nya... they were worse. It hurt him to know that they were on life support. </p><p>"So how are you anyway?" </p><p>Jay glanced over at the other side of the room to see his birth mother. She was sat upright on the bed, her left leg stretched out. He gave her a smile of reassurance.</p><p>"Tired," He responded sleepily.</p><p>"You should go home and sleep for a couple hours," She suggested.</p><p>Jay's face turned stern, a look of disgust on his face, "Are you joking?"</p><p>"Oh shoot," Libber face palmed, "Sorry, I forgot."</p><p>"We have no home to go back to," Jay sighed. </p><p>He hated to say it but it was normal for the Bounty to be destroyed. He was sure it would come back soon. But he didn't want to get his hopes up at the same time.</p><p>"Well once I get out of here, you can come and stay with me. Along with the rest of the team. We have plenty of rooms," She told him with a smile.</p><p>Jay fake smiled back, "Thanks, mom. That means a lot."</p><p>There was a moment of silence as Jay glanced down at his adoptive mother and father. It hurt to see them like that.  Well, to be honest, it hurt to see <em>anyone </em>like that.</p><p>"You must be pretty stressed," She spoke up awkwardly.</p><p>Jay nodded, "I just hope that everyone gets out of this okay." </p><p>"Me too," Libber stated, glancing at Ed and Edna. </p><p>"Even if I did have a home right now, I wouldn't leave here. Whoever put the bomb in my room obviously tried to kill us and I don't want to take any chances of them coming here and doing something," Jay explained, "I'm the protector. I have to <em>protect </em>them."</p><p>Libber nodded, "I understand that but you still need to sleep."</p><p>"And I will," He paused, "But only when I know that everyone is well and safe. I don't want to miss any last moments with someone."</p><p>Libber sighed. Jay had always been such a sweet kid and so caring too but when it came to stuff like this... he was one of the most arrogant people that she knew. She hadn't known him long but she did know him well. He was her son for goodness sake. She understood why he wanted to stay but his health also came first. If he didn't take care of himself, he'd fall in <em>too deep. </em>She could already tell that he wasn't okay.</p><p>"If you ever want to talk about stuff, I'm here, you know that, right?" She questioned, hoping he'd spill everything to her. </p><p>Jay nodded, "Thanks, mom."</p><p>But instead... he stayed quiet. He'd always kept his feelings to himself. <em>Always</em>.</p><p>"Please Jay, just talk to me," She sighed, "I know something's wrong."</p><p>Jay glanced up at her, a sad look on her face, "I dunno.... everything is just a mess. I can't even think anymore."</p><p>"Tell me everything," She told him, encouraging him to come and sit on her hospital bed. Jay sighed, not wanting to leave his parents. But he knew they'd be okay. He also knew that he needed to talk to someone. Someone close to him... And the only person he could trust with this right now was his mother. </p><p>Jay got up from his seat and wandered over to her bed. He sat down opposite her, crossing his legs.</p><p>"I feel like I'm losing myself," He sighed.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Libber frowned.</p><p>"I used to be so happy and positive and now.... I'm completely different. I don't know what's happened to me. I'm just scared that everyone will lose interest in me, especially Nya," He replied.</p><p>Libber gave him a smile of reassurance, "No one is losing interest in you, Jay. Sure, you may be more serious now but you're still the same person deep down. We all know it. And I promise you that once all this is over, and the villains specifically stop targeting you, the old Jay will show again."</p><p>"You think so?" He questioned.</p><p>She nodded almost instantly, "Why else would we all love you?"</p><p>Jay smiled, "Thanks, mom. You always know what to say."</p><p>Libber leaned forward and hugged her son. Jay hugged her back. That's all he needed right now. <em>A hug. </em>He never knew he needed it until now. I guess maybe he just needed someone to be there for him. Someone to make him feel less alone. And after all this... at least he still had <em>her.</em></p><p> </p><p>Down the corridor, in another darker room, where the lights had been dimmed. Inside, there lay a boy with pitch black hair on the hospital bed. His eyes were shut, his arms draped by his side. Well, all except for one. His left hand was being held by someone else.</p><p>Sat on a chair beside the bed was Ben. He had spent the entire day that they'd spent in the hospital with his boyfriend. He knew that he should've been to see the others but Cole needed him right now. Ben had told Jay to focus on the others and their wellbeing whilst he offered to stay with Cole, of course. </p><p>Ben would casually sit there talking away to his sleeping lover. He didn't care if he could hear him or not. He just liked being in Cole's presence after knowing that Cole risked his own life to protect <em>him.</em> He still despised the idea of losing him. He didn't take any moment for granted.</p><p>"But no matter what I do or say, I'll always be here for you babe," Ben beamed at his boyfriend.</p><p>Ben was glad that he could talk away without someone telling him to shut up. </p><p>But after a while, the Kitsune was beginning to get restless and worried. He never really knew the outcome of comas. What if Cole had severe memory loss? What if he wouldn't remember who Ben even was? He needed to check it out.</p><p>Ben took his phone out of his back pocket and googled, 'how long do comas last?'. He read over some of the information that he found.</p><p>"Comas can last from several days to several weeks. In more severe cases acoma may last for over five weeks, while some have lasted as long as several years. After this time, some patients gradually come out of the coma, some progress to a vegetative state, and others die," He read aloud.</p><p>He was genuinely shocked at some of it. <em>Several years? Die? </em>He didn't like the sound of that. </p><p>"Seems like it could last days at the least... looks like I'll be talking <em>a lot </em>then," He joked. </p><p>He was trying to stay as positive as possible. <em>Someone</em> needed to. He was scared for Cole. He was scared for his future. If he'd lost Cole... what would he have left? He never loved anyone the same way that he loved the earth ninja. His cocky yet adorable boyfriend was like no other person he'd ever met, and he'd met <em>plenty </em>of people in his lifetime. He never even knew that he was attracted to boys until he met Cole. But just being in his presence made him weaker. In a good way of course.</p><p>"I don't know if you can hear me right now but... I need you to wake up soon for me, kay? I need you right now," Ben sighed, "And so does Jay. He's a wreck."</p><p>Everyone had noticed it. Jay wasn't himself. Not anymore.</p><p>"I heard him talking to Nya last night..." Ben spoke quietly, "And he's scared. And alone. And completely broken. He needs you there for him. He doesn't want to lose you. And neither do I. So please just wake up soon."</p><p>He tried not to cry. He needed to stay strong. He wasn't going to break like everyone else. Ben yawned, not even realising how tired he was. He hadn't slept in days.</p><p>"I'm sure nobody will mind if I take a small nap..." Ben spoke quietly, holding onto Cole's hand tighter. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everything was quiet. Everything was fine. Well it was until Ben felt a tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and rapidly sat up, his hands in fists, ready to hit whoever it was.</p><p>"GET BACK!" He shouted before realising who it was, "Oh Jay, it's just you."</p><p>Jay smiled at him. Ben looked tired and stressed. He was expecting Jay to have a go at him for sleeping but instead, he was supportive. The blue ninja was glad that he was getting some rest whilst being with Cole at the same time.</p><p>"Hey, I really didn't want to wake you but..." Jay said awkwardly.</p><p>"What is it? Is everything okay?" Ben wondered.</p><p>Jay nodded, "I just... wanna talk about what happened."</p><p>Ben smiled, "Sure. Where do you wanna talk?" </p><p>Jay shrugged.</p><p>"Here?" He wondered.</p><p>Jay shook his head, "I'm pretty sure Cole can hear us."</p><p>Ben frowned, "What do you mean?"</p><p>"I think Nya could hear me. I was talking to her and she squeezed my hand," Jay told him.</p><p>Ben's eyes widened and he looked his sleeping boyfriend. Maybe Cole could hear him after all.</p><p>"But it might depend what state they're in. Cole was closer to the bomb," Jay pointed out.</p><p>Ben nodded, "Yeah..."</p><p>"Shall we take it outside?" Jay asked after a moment.</p><p>Ben nodded again and gently let go of his boyfriend's hand, "I'll be back in a minute."</p><p>The two boys left the room and stood outside in the corridor. Jay sighed and glanced at Ben.</p><p>"Is everything okay?" Ben wondered.</p><p>"Yeah... it's just... I need to know some stuff," He replied.</p><p>"Like what happened when Cole and I left?" Ben frowned.</p><p>"Just some details," Jay added.</p><p>"Okay... what do you want to know?" Ben asked.</p><p>"What did the bomb look like?" Jay questioned.</p><p>Ben sighed. Everything was such a blur. He couldn't remember much and it kind of pained him to think of it too.</p><p>"It was round and about this big," Ben moved his arms about 30 centimetres apart from each other, "It had a countdown on it. I tried to defuse it with the wires but I didn't have enough time."</p><p>Jay nodded, "It's just that the police department needed to know so they can find the company that made it or something. Some proper investigating going on."</p><p>"And so they should. This is serious," Ben stated sternly.</p><p>"Yes," Jay sighed.</p><p>"You okay?" Ben asked him, his eyebrows creased with worry.</p><p>Jay shrugged his shoulder, "Better than I was. I spoke to my mom."</p><p>Ben frowned, "Libber or Edna?"</p><p>"Well seeing as in Edna is on life support right now..." Jay trailed off.</p><p>"Libber," Ben nodded.</p><p>Jay smiled, "She really helped me. I guess I just really needed to talk to someone."</p><p>"I'm glad you got some stuff off your chest. Just know that if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you," Ben smiled sweetly.</p><p>"Thanks Ben," Jay hugged him.</p><p>Ben was a little taken back but hugged him back. They were beginning to get closer.</p><p>"You're a really good friend," Jay smiled.</p><p>Ben pulled away from the hug, a frown on his face, "Friend?"</p><p>Jay nodded, "We're friends, aren't we?"</p><p>Ben beamed, "I-I've never really had friends before."</p><p>"Well now you do," Jay smiled back.</p><p>Ben was ecstatic. He thought that the ninja could really trust him anymore. He thought that he wouldn't be able to make friends with him. But I guess he was wrong.</p><p>"And... I don't know if the others will agree with me but this is my decision," Jay grinned, "I want to make you an official member of the team."</p><p>Ben froze. Had he been hearing things? Was he hallucinating? </p><p>"R-really?" Ben stuttered, a smile forming on his face.</p><p>Jay nodded.</p><p>This was one of the greatest days of Ben's life. Not only had he made a friend but he was now a member of the ninja team! </p><p>"Thank you so much!" Ben beamed.</p><p>"Don't make me regret it," Jay told him with a smile.</p><p>"You won't! I promise!" Ben exclaimed happily.</p><p>Jay quickly smiled and winked at Ben before walking off down the corridor and out of sight. He couldn't put into words how excited he was. He entered back into the room where Cole was still in his coma and sat down in the chair beside the bed.</p><p>"Hey Cole," Ben gently took his hand again, "I don't know if you can hear me or not but... Jay just made me an official member of the team. That means we can spend more time together."</p><p>He looked at his boyfriend lovingly, hoping he could hear him. If not, he just liked being in his presence. He was going to be there for Cole no matter what.</p><p>"I know that it's a long shot but... maybe after all this is over... maybe we could go on a proper date or something. Just you and me. Like watch a movie or go for a walk or to Mega Monster Amusement Park or-" Ben smiled and looked at the floor, "Sorry."</p><p>The way he felt about Cole was like no other. It wasn't love at first sight. It was more like love at first argument. Although, for Ben, he'd always liked Cole from the beginning. He just never realised it until Cole had kissed him. That was the best day of his life. </p><p>
  <em>"I can see that you want to change, Ben. I just don't want anything to come in the way of it," Cole glanced down at the ground.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ben smiled a little, "I need to learn by myself."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I know that now," Cole rolled his eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The boys were quiet for a moment. Cole folded his arms as Ben stood there awkwardly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm really sorry, Cole," Ben started, "I shouldn't have done what I did or I could have just spoken to you and it would've--"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cole stepped forward and placed his hands on Ben's cheeks. He leaned forward and quickly connected their lips.</em>
</p><p>He could feel his heart leap just thinking about it. He smiled brightly at his sleeping boyfriend. He was just as beautiful asleep as he was awake. </p><p>"Again, I don't know if you can hear me," Ben smiled, "But... I just need you to know that I love you. Like... I <em>really </em>love you. I never realised how much you meant to me before and now that I'm close to losing you... I can't stop feeling the way that I do. My feelings are growing and it's only making me fall in love with you even more. You've saved me countless times... I can't thank you enough."</p><p>He paused for a moment, trying to hold back his tears. </p><p>
  <em>"Kill him, Ben!" The voice shouted, getting angrier and angrier.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cole braced himself for the worst. He knew what was going to happen and he didn't like it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Your past is controlling you, Ben, and it's stopping you from being you. You aren't your parents and you aren't your enemies. No one may be able to see it but I do. I know the real you and I'm in love with him," Cole panicked.</em>
</p><p>He couldn't get it out of his head. Cole had told him that he was <em>in love with him</em>. The <em>real </em>him. He wasn't scared to be himself anymore and he definitely<em> wasn't</em> his parents. Cole had taught him to not be afraid of himself. He was lucky to have Cole.</p><p>Ben leaned forward and gently kissed the earth ninja on the forehead.</p><p>"Just please don't leave me..." Ben cried softly.</p><p> </p><p>Down the corridor, Jay stood outside Nya's room, watching. He wanted her to rest so he stayed outside. What if she could <em>really </em>hear him? What would she say when she woke up? <em>When </em>would she wake up? There were so many questions he needed answers to. He just needed to be patient.</p><p>"Jay?" </p><p>Jay frowned and turned around to see the Police Commissioner.</p><p>"Is everything okay?" Jay wondered.</p><p>"I have some news, you might want to gather Ben too," He responded.</p><p>Jay was a little concerned but decided to grab Ben. He opened the door to Cole's room and stuck his head round. That caught Ben's attention. He quickly dried the tears that were on his cheeks and smiled at the blue ninja.</p><p>"You okay?" Jay wondered.</p><p>Ben nodded, "Just a little emotional, that's all."</p><p>"The Police Commissioner needs to see us," Jay stated. </p><p>Ben turned to look at Cole with a smile. He let go of his hand and leaned over him a little, kissing him on the forehead again. Jay smiled. </p><p>Ben left the room before taking one last look at his boyfriend, hoping he'd be okay whilst he was gone.</p><p>The two boys were led into the waiting room, where they had spoken to the Police Commissioner before. They sat down in some chairs and the P.C began.</p><p>"So... we have a problem," He stated awkwardly.</p><p>"What do you mean 'problem'?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"What kind of problem?" Ben asked.</p><p>"Well... when you brought Darien to me, he had unusually purple eyes. But when we saw him this morning, his eyes were dark brown and he said he couldn't remember anything," He explained.</p><p>The two boys exchanged looks of confusion.</p><p>"What kind of purple?" Jay wondered.</p><p>"Like a bright purple," The P.C responded.</p><p>Jay's eyes widened, "That's the same colour your eyes were when you were being controlled."</p><p>Ben frowned, "What are you saying?"</p><p>"What if Darien was being controlled? What if he was being forced to do all that stuff?" Jay asked.</p><p>"Or... what if Darien was framed. Maybe he was being controlled by the person who's <em>really </em>behind it all. Maybe they just wanted to distract us long enough to be able to do something," Ben suggested.</p><p>"Like plant the bomb on the Bounty," Jay sighed.</p><p>"We were tricked," Ben grunted, folding his arms.</p><p>"Are you sure about this?" The P.C asked, his eyebrows raised.</p><p>"One hundred per cent," Jay responded.</p><p>The P.C nodded and noted some stuff down on a notepad.</p><p>"But how are we going to catch them? It could literally be anyone," Ben stated sternly.</p><p>Jay thought for a moment. He'd completely ran out of ideas at this point. This same guy had robbed the bakery, killed his father, framed Jay, framed Darien, <em>and </em>bombed the Bounty. And yet they still had no idea who he was.</p><p>"Is there anything we can do to help with the investigation?" Ben wondered.</p><p>The P.C shook his head, "It's better to let the professionals deal with this. We don't want anyone else getting hurt, okay? All you need to do is stay here and take care of your friends and family. They need plenty of support right now."</p><p>"I can't just sit here and do nothing," Jay complained, sitting forward.</p><p>"I need you to keep an eye on everyone and how they act. Can you do that for me?" He asked.</p><p>Jay frowned, "What are you trying to say?"</p><p>"Someone in your group <em>could </em>have planted the bomb," The P.C stated awkwardly.</p><p>"That's ridiculous!" Jay exclaimed, "Not one of us would do such a thing!"</p><p>"Yeah, you can't blame them without any evidence," Ben folded his arms.</p><p>"I'm not blaming them for anything. As long as there's no proof, I can't lock them up. I need something; anything. Even a small detail, okay? Just keep an eye on everyone," The P.C told them before getting up out of his seat, "I'll let you know if we find anything."</p><p>They watched as he left the room and down the corridor out of sight. Jay sighed. Ben shook his head in disgust.</p><p>"He's completely useless," Ben rolled his eyes.</p><p>"He knows what he's doing, Ben. We just need to trust him," Jay said sternly.</p><p>"Blaming people is wrong," Ben snarled.</p><p>"I know. And he's not making the same mistake twice like he did with me. He's trying his best," Jay sighed, "We have to have faith."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. If we have each other</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was around 3am the next day. Jay had decided to spend the night with his brother whist Ben went to Kryptarium prison to see Darien, hoping to get some more information. </p><p>Yes, the boys may had been told to stay out of it and let the police deal with it but they couldn't just sit there and do nothing. They needed to get involved. Waiting around for something to happen was agitating them. Jay had agreed to stay with Cole for a few hours whilst Ben was out. It was rather early in the morning but he wanted to go whilst there was no one around. Maybe it would be better, especially since he still isn't in a good place with the people of Ninjago. </p><p>Jay didn't mind being with Cole. They hadn't had much quality time alone recently so he took any chance he got. Besides, maybe it was a good idea to let Nya rest on her own for a couple of hours.</p><p>The lightning ninja was sat on the chair beside his sleeping brother. It was rather relaxing being in a kind of new environment. Not that the rooms looked any different from each other...</p><p>It reminded him of when he had woken up from his coma. The first time, he was in that room <em>because </em>of Ben but now he was there <em>for </em>Ben. It was strange.</p><p>After about 30 minutes of silence, there was a quiet knock at the door of the room. It was the doctor.</p><p>"Hey doc, is everyone okay?" Jay wondered, a little concerned about his friend.</p><p>"Do you have a moment?" She asked.</p><p>Jay glanced at Cole and then back at the doctor with a smile, "Yeah."</p><p>Jay followed her outside the room and closed the door. The doctor lead him down the corridor and towards Nya's room. They stood outside and glanced through the window at a middle-aged couple in there sat beside the bed. Jay frowned.</p><p>"Who are they?"</p><p>"I hoped you would know the answer to that," The doctor responded.</p><p>Jay shook his head, "I have no idea who they are."</p><p>The couple both had dark hair and slightly toned skin, much like Nya's.</p><p>"Wait, so if you don't know who they are, then why did you let them in?" Jay asked.</p><p>"The front desk gave them permission," She replied.</p><p>Jay narrowed his eyes at them through the window. He'd never seen them before in his life. You'd think someone who's constantly roaming the streets of Ninjago would recognise anyone and everyone. </p><p>"I'm gonna go check it out," Jay stated, opening the door to the room. The doctor wandered off down the corridor to deal with other patients. Jay entered and closed the door behind him.</p><p>"Can I help you?" Jay folded his arms and leant against the door frame.</p><p>The two glanced up at him, sad looks on their faces. They didn't say anything.</p><p>"I don't think you're supposed to be in here," He stated sternly.</p><p>"We are," The man spoke.</p><p>"We know her," The woman added.</p><p>Jay frowned, "Who are you?"</p><p>They both stood up and smiled at the teen.</p><p>"I'm Ray and this is my wife, Maya," The man held his hand out for Jay to shake. Jay just frowned at him. He swore he heard those names from somewhere.</p><p>"We're Nya's parents," Maya told him.</p><p>Jay's eyes widened. Her <em>parents</em>? </p><p>"But... that's impossible," Jay was shocked, "Nya said that her parents were-"</p><p>"Dead?" Ray questioned, "That's what we wanted everyone to believe. We were taken hostage."</p><p>"Taken hostage?" Jay's eyebrows raised.</p><p>They nodded. </p><p>Maya sighed, "It was a horrible experience... but the police managed to track us down after so many years, setting us free. And then we heard about the explosion... we had to come straight here."</p><p>Jay was speechless. He'd always made up these fake scenarios in his head about meeting his love's parents for the first time. Yet he never imagined it to go like <em>this. </em>He didn't mind the fact that they were dead as it meant there was no possible reason for them to come between the couple but now he just felt...... he couldn't even describe it. </p><p>"S-so you're her..." Jay trailed off for a moment, "...p-parents?"</p><p>They nodded again. </p><p>"You know her?" Ray asked.</p><p>Jay gulped, "Yeah... um... she's my.. girlfriend. Well, fiancé actually..."</p><p>"Fiancé?!" Ray exclaimed.</p><p>Jay felt a pit in his stomach. This was it. This was what was going to come between them for good. </p><p>"Aww!" Maya smiled.</p><p>"My daughter has a.... fiancé?" Ray seemed confused. Jay felt a little awkward. </p><p>"What's your name?" Maya wondered.</p><p>"J-Jay," He replied nervously.</p><p>Maya's facial expression quickly changed to shocked. Ray and Maya exchanged looks.</p><p>"What? Did I say something wrong?" Jay frowned, his heart beating fast.</p><p>"You're... Jay!" Ray's eyebrows raised.</p><p>"Libber's son!" Maya exclaimed.</p><p>Jay frowned and nodded. He forgot that they were on the team with his mother.</p><p>"We helped her when she was pregnant with you," Maya beamed.</p><p>Jay's nerves began to fade away a little. At least knew they were good people.</p><p>"Really?" Jay smiled.</p><p>"Of course," Ray grinned at him.</p><p>"Aw, I remember Libber and I saying that my daughter and her son would be the best of friends," Maya stated dreamily.</p><p>"But instead... they're engaged," Ray's eyes narrowed at Jay for a moment. It made him feel a little uncomfortable.</p><p>"Is Kai around?" Maya asked excitedly.</p><p>"Yeah, he's in another room down the corridor, I can take you to him if you like," Jay responded.</p><p>"I'd love to see him!" Maya beamed.</p><p>"Um.. just a heads up... he broke his leg," Jay smiled sweetly.</p><p>"That boy has always been clumsy," Ray joked.</p><p>"Um, honey, I think he means from the explosion," Maya giggled.</p><p>Jay lead the couple down the corridor and towards the room with Lloyd and Kai in. He was a little excited to see how the fire ninja would react to seeing them. It was bound to be a huge moment. Ray and Maya stayed out of sight whilst Jay peered through the window to see the two roommates chatting. Jay smiled as they spotted him. He opened the door and smiled at them.</p><p>"Hey," Jay greeted them, keeping his parents out of sight.</p><p>"Jay!" Lloyd exclaimed happily.</p><p>"Hey bluebell," Kai teased. Jay hated being called that but his excitement was too controlling for him to care right now.</p><p>"So... I have a surprise for you," Jay told Kai.</p><p>Kai frowned, "It better not be a water balloon."</p><p>"It's something much better, I promise," Jay beamed.</p><p>"What is it?" Kai asked, folding his arms.</p><p>"I found a couple of people in Nya's room and they said that they knew you so... I thought you might want to see them," Jay smirked.</p><p>"Who is it?" Kai narrowed his eyes.</p><p>Jay smiled and opened the door fully, he stepped inside and towards Lloyd's side of the room. Ray and Maya stepped into the room, Kai's eyes fixing on them almost instantly. His facial expression changed to shocked. He covered his mouth quickly, tears filling his eyes. The couple smiled at their son. Jay beamed at the sight, Lloyd was just confused.</p><p>"Mom?! Dad?!" Kai exclaimed, his voice shaking, hoping it wasn't a dream. </p><p>They approached their son, getting ready for a hug.</p><p>"I-I can't believe you're here!" Kai cried happily.</p><p>Lloyd shot a look of surprise at Jay, "How is that possible?!"</p><p>"Kai, oh my gosh," Maya cried, tears also falling down her cheeks as she hugged her son. Kai wrapped his arms around his mother and father as best he could, trying not to move his leg too much. Not that he really cared right now.</p><p>Kai was in complete shock. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. They were there. He could actually feel them and hug them. It felt so unreal. Was this just a dream?</p><p>"I've missed you so much! I thought you had died!" Kai exclaimed as they all pulled away. </p><p>"We're here now, son," Ray smiled.</p><p>"I-I love you guys so much," Kai said, his voice still shaking. His hands were just as bad.</p><p>"We love you too, Kai," Maya cried. </p><p>"More than anything, son," Ray added.</p><p>Maya placed her hands gently on her son's cheeks and smiled, another tear falling.</p><p>"You've grown so much," She spoke quietly.</p><p>"As has Nya," Ray stated, happy to see his children.</p><p>"And I'm a ninja too," Kai smiled.</p><p>"A ninja?" Ray's eyebrows raised, surprised. Although, it was determined that their offspring would too, one day, take their place as the protectors of the realm.</p><p>"Master of fire," Kai glanced at his father.</p><p>"That's my boy," Ray beamed, hugging his son quickly. Kai didn't want to let him go. His father had taught him so much, like how to become a Blacksmith and now he'd followed in his footsteps. He thought he'd never get to show his father but he was wrong. Now he was stood in front of him. It seemed like a big dream.</p><p>There was another knock at the door, startling everyone. It soon opened to reveal the same doctor from before. She smiled at everyone in the room for a moment before encouraging Jay to leave the room.</p><p>"Has something happened?" Jay asked as soon as they were out in the corridor.</p><p>"It's about Cole," She replied.</p><p>"Cole?" Jay frowned, "Is he okay?!"</p><p>"He's just woken up," She smiled.</p><p>Jay's eyebrows raised. He didn't think he or Nya would come out of their comas any time soon. He was just glad that his brother was okay.</p><p>"C-Can I see him?" Jay wondered, trying to control his excitement.</p><p>She nodded and lead Jay down the corridor. Through the window, he could see Cole in the bed, his eyes open and glancing around the room a little aimlessly. Jay beamed.</p><p>The doctor smiled and wandered off down the corridor, leaving them alone. Jay opened the door, catching his brother's attention. Cole smiled. He entered the room, closing the door behind him and sat down in the chair next to him.</p><p>"I may not be Ben but I'm the next best thing," Jay joked.</p><p>"I always love seeing your ugly face," Cole teased, a wide smile on his face.</p><p>Jay grinned, "How are you doing?"</p><p>"Better than I was I'm guessing," Cole responded.</p><p>"Do you remember anything that happened?" Jay questioned.</p><p>Cole thought for a moment before shrugging slightly, "The last thing I remember is blacking after the bomb exploded... so I'm guessing I remember everything."</p><p>Jay smiled, "Great. I wanted to ask you a question because it's been bothering me... Did you use your shield to protect Ben? I mean... he wasn't as hurt as you were and he was right next to the bomb so..."</p><p>"Yes," Cole replied, "I used my shield."</p><p>Jay beamed and nodded. Ben would definitely be happy to hear that.</p><p>"As much as I <em>love </em>spending time with you, where is Ben?" Cole asked, looking around the room again.</p><p>"He's gone to Kryptarium to see Darien," Jay sighed, "You won't believe this but Darien isn't the person we've been looking for."</p><p>"Of course he is. We caught him, remember?" Cole frowned.</p><p>"Nope," Jay folded his arms and sat back, "He was being controlled."</p><p>"Impossible."</p><p>"The Police Commissioner came to see Ben and I yesterday. Darien had purple eyes when we brought him in. Then when the P.C went to check on him later that day, his eyes had changed back to their original dark brown. He also said that he couldn't remember anything," He explained.</p><p>Cole groaned, "For goodness sake."</p><p>Jay sighed, "So now we're back to square one again. Ben's gone to see Darien to hopefully get some information about who this rightful criminal is. Maybe he knew something."</p><p>"Yeah..." Cole huffed, "I'm sick of this."</p><p>"And whoever it was must've put the bomb on the Bounty too," Jay stated.</p><p>Cole nodded.</p><p>"Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this soon. I don't know what I'll do if someone else gets hurt," Jay said sternly.</p><p>The lightning ninja was so <em>so </em>happy to have his brother back. He was so worried about Cole not making it but now he just wanted him to get better so that he could help out. He also couldn't wait to see Ben's reaction to his boyfriend waking up. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Before you go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So how are you doing now?" Jay asked his brother, smiling.</p><p>Cole thought for a moment before smiling back, "Well... better than I was yesterday."</p><p>Jay giggled. Cole was happy to see him smile for once. Things were only going to get harder again and he was glad that Jay was just trying to stay positive. The earth ninja was going to do whatever it takes to make him happy again. </p><p>"How's Nya?" Cole wondered, his face returning to concerned.</p><p>Jay shrugged, "She's still in a coma so I have no idea. I hope she pulls through."</p><p>"Yeah, hopefully she won't be in a coma for much longer," Cole gave him a smile of reassurance.</p><p>"I've been spending a lot of time with her though. Y'know... talking her ear off," Jay replied.</p><p>"That's what you do best," Cole grinned, remembering all the times he had told Jay to shut up even if he <em>loved </em>Jay's never ending rambling.</p><p>Jay looked down at his hands and smiled for a moment "I can't wait for all this to be over. Then we can plan our <em>wedding</em>."</p><p>"That's some exciting stuff," Cole told him, "I bet you're pumped."</p><p>"Yeah, I guess..." Jay smiled awkwardly.</p><p>"What's up?" Cole asked his brother, a little worried about what he was thinking.</p><p>"I dunno... maybe it was too soon. What if she didn't want to get married? What if it was just in the heat of the moment? Should I have asked her in private or...?" Jay rambled.</p><p>"Woah, dude, chill. You know Nya; if she wanted to say no, she would've said it loud and proud. She doesn't care what others think of her," Cole reassured his brother.</p><p>Jay took a deep breath, "Yeah, you're right. I'm just overthinking."</p><p>"You've got too much spare time to overthink right now," Cole smiled teasingly.</p><p>Jay nodded.</p><p>There was a moment of silence. Neither of them knew what to say. What did they even have to talk about?</p><p>"So..." Jay smirked, "When are you gonna ask Ben to marry you?"</p><p>Cole's eyes widened, "Woah, woah, woah, slow down there buddy."</p><p>"What? I'm just wondering," Jay laughed.</p><p>"Not any time soon, that's for sure," Cole responded.</p><p>"Why not? Do you not love him?" Jay teased.</p><p>"Of course I do, I'm just not ready for marriage. We only recently got together and I don't want to ruin things now. I like things the way they are. We're perfectly fine with just being boyfriends, okay?" Cole explained.</p><p>"Relax, I was kidding," Jay giggled.</p><p>"Hm," Cole glared at his brother.</p><p>"Speaking of Ben, I should call him and let him know you're awake," Jay smiled.</p><p>"Ooh, put it on loud speaker," Cole tried to sit up a little as Jay took his phone out of his back pocket and started scrolling through his contacts.</p><p>The lightning ninja clicked on Ben's name and started calling him. He instantly put it on loud speaker, like Cole had asked. Cole tried to keep his mouth shut. Jay was excited for Ben's reaction.</p><p>Within a matter of seconds, Ben picked up.</p><p>"Hello?" Ben questioned from the other side.</p><p>"Hey Ben," Jay smiled.</p><p>"What's up?" Ben asked.</p><p>"Where are you?" Jay wondered.</p><p>"I'm still with Darien, why? Is everything okay?" He replied.</p><p>Jay glanced at his brother, who grinned.</p><p>"It's about Cole," Jay stated seriously.</p><p>"What?! Is he okay?! Did something happen?!" Ben immediately responded, his voice slightly shaking.</p><p>"He's okay," Jay smiled again, "Actually... he's awake."</p><p>"Awake?! Did you just say he's awake!? Okay, I'm heading down there right now," Ben exclaimed.</p><p>"But what about Darien?" Jay asked.</p><p>"Darien can wait!" Ben shouted down the phone before hanging up.</p><p>Jay burst into laughter, Cole giggled a little.</p><p>"I guess he's on his way then," Cole beamed, excited to see his boyfriend again.</p><p>"Hey, just a quick question," Jay said as he finally calmed down from his fit of giggles.</p><p>"What?" Cole raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"When you were in your coma, could you hear the things going on around you?" Jay wondered.</p><p>It had been bothering him since he spoke to Nya. He assumed she could at least feel him since she squeezed his hand but he didn't know if she could hear him. That's what was bugging him.</p><p>Cole thought for a moment, "I could definitely feel his hand on mine. It was warm..."</p><p>"But could you hear?" Jay questioned, leaning forward.</p><p>"A little, I think," Cole nodded, "I actually remember Ben saying that once all this was over that he wanted to take me on a proper date since we never got the chance to."</p><p>Jay smiled, "Aw, a first date?"</p><p>"I'm sure it would be better than our first kiss, that's for sure," Cole chuckled.</p><p>"Ah yes," Jay giggled, "The dramatic love story of Colen, written and directed by Cole Bucket."</p><p>"Alright motormouth, enough of that," Cole laughed.</p><p>The two boys kept chatting for the next 30 minutes about complete nonsense, just like they used to do. They hadn't had much time to talk recently so being able to just randomly talk made things feel so much better.</p><p>Suddenly, they both heard a door fly open from down the corridor. They looked at each other with <em>'the look'</em>. </p><p>"That was quick," Jay joked. Cole braced himself.</p><p>Within a matter of seconds, the door to the room they were in flung open and Ben stood there in the doorway, breathing heavily. He glanced at his boyfriend with a huge smile.</p><p>"Cole!" He exclaimed before lunging at him. Jay began to laugh a little.</p><p>Ben wrapped his arms around Cole, causing Cole to flinch a little from the pain. He was happy to see his boyfriend so ecstatic.</p><p>"I'm so so so glad that you're okay!" Ben beamed.</p><p>Cole didn't really know what to say. He loved being able to actually hug his boyfriend after the past few days. He really missed it.</p><p>Ben pulled away from the hug, a concerned look on his face, "You are okay, aren't you?"</p><p>"Yes," Cole laughed.</p><p>"Yay!" Ben hugged him again.</p><p>"Also," Cole pushed him away a little, a smile on his face, "I'd love to go on that date."</p><p>Ben's face turned from happy to surprised, "Y-you heard all that?"</p><p>Cole nodded, "And I <em>really </em>love you too."</p><p>A light pink appeared on Ben's cheeks. Jay was happy for them. The lightning ninja never expected those two to end up together. Cole used to <em>hate </em>Ben. He was the person who told Jay to kill Ben on the Wailing Alps. And now they were a <em>couple</em>? If someone had told him that they would be together in the future, he would've never believed it. But now he could see how perfect they were for each other.</p><p>Cole managed to push himself up a little and lean towards Ben. He gently connected their lips for a few seconds.</p><p>"Woah, okay, there's children watching," Jay joked, covering his eyes.</p><p>Cole and Ben pulled away, laughing. </p><p>"I had to put up with you and Nya snogging for how many years?" Cole replied.</p><p>"Okay, one, it's not <em>snogging</em>. And two, you wouldn't know a proper kiss if it went and bit you on the nose," Jay folded his arms.</p><p>"And I think Ben's kisses are perfect," Cole teased.</p><p>"Well, I'm gonna go now," Jay turned around awkwardly and opened the door to the room.</p><p>"See ya later!" Cole called out, chuckling.</p><p>Jay winked at the two and left the room. He wandered down the corridor and out of sight.</p><p>Ben sat beside Cole on the bed, his back resting on the pillows. </p><p>"It's great to have you back," Ben smiled.</p><p>"Did you miss me?" Cole smirked.</p><p>"Mmm... just a little..." Ben murmured.</p><p>"Sure didn't sound like it when I was in my coma," Cole teased.</p><p>"Shut up," Ben spat out.</p><p>Cole laughed. He loved being with Ben. Just being in his presence made him fall in love with him all over again.</p><p>"Hey, I know we just had our <em>reunion </em>and stuff but do you think you could do me a favour?" Cole wondered.</p><p>"What is it?" Ben frowned.</p><p>"Could you check on my parents? Jay said that no one's been to see them yet and I'm just a little worried," Cole replied.</p><p>"They're fine, Cole," Ben told him.</p><p>"You wouldn't know that unless you actually went to see them," Cole sighed, "Please?"</p><p>Ben groaned, "Fine."</p><p>"Thank you!" Cole beamed, hugging him but not too tight. He hadn't gotten all his strength back yet. He had just woken up from a coma after all.</p><p>Ben got up from the bed and stretched. It was almost 6 am, he doubted that they would even be awake, but even in a place like this... who would be able to sleep?</p><p>Ben groaned again before opening the door.</p><p>"Love you," Cole smirked, knowing he'd annoying his significant other.</p><p>Ben glared at his boyfriend for a moment, "Mmm." Cole laughed as he watched him leave the room and walk down the corridor.</p><p>Ben wandered down to where Lou and Sabrina's room were. To his surprise, they were awake. He assumed that the doctors had told them Cole's state and they did seem a little worried. They weren't talking much either. He also felt a little nervous going in there. He hadn't properly met them yet. They knew him as the guy who betrayed the ninja and '<em>killed' </em>their son. He just hoped that they would accept him.</p><p>He knocked before entering, catching both of their attention. They were expecting it to be the doctor but it wasn't and they seemed a little disturbed.</p><p>"Hm," Lou frowned, watching the boy as he entered the room with a smile, "Ben, is it?"</p><p>Ben nodded, "I just came to see how you were doing."</p><p>"That's none of your business," Lou stated sternly.</p><p>Sabrina shot Lou a look before turning to Ben with a smile, "We're doing good, thank you Ben."</p><p>"Great," Ben felt a little awkward, "I just wanted to say that... Cole's awake now and he's doing fantastic."</p><p>"That's nice, now please leave," Lou replied.</p><p>"Lou, be nice to the boy! He's helped the ninja out a lot," Sabrina told him.</p><p>"Doesn't excuse what he's done to Cole, the team and Ninjago," Lou folded his arms.</p><p>Ben knew this was coming. He knew <em>someone </em>was going to judge him because of his past. He was surprised but it didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt. His past was controlling him. That's why he needed to show everyone that he had changed. </p><p>"Stay away from my son," Lou glared at Ben.</p><p>"Um..." Ben stared at the floor awkwardly, "you do know that Cole and I are... y'know... together, right?"</p><p>"What?!" Lou exclaimed. Sabrina nodded.</p><p>"I thought Cole had told you..." Ben muttered.</p><p>"Pathetic! I thought my son had good taste, especially being with people who don't <em>kill </em>him! Absolutely pathetic!" Lou shouted, not even trying to look at the boy stood by the door.</p><p>"I didn't <em>kill </em>Cole," Ben sighed.</p><p>"Lou!" Sabrina exclaimed, shocked by his behaviour.</p><p>"You probably won't even treat him right! I bet <em>you </em>were the one who planted that bomb there and deliberately wanted to hurt my son. Pathetic. You're pathetic. Cole must've been brainwashed to ever want to date <em>you</em>," Lou continued.</p><p>His words hurt Ben. It felt like a tonne of bricks had fallen on top of him. His heart was heavy and he was finding it hard to breathe. </p><p>"S-sorry, I have to go," Ben stated shakily before leaving the room and running off down the corridor.</p><p>"Now look what you've done!" Sabrina complained.</p><p>Lou rolled his eyes, "He doesn't deserve our son's love."</p><p>That's all Ben would be known for now. He was the <em>criminal</em>. The <em>murderer.</em> The <em>sinner.</em> He thought everyone believed in change but he was wrong. No matter where he turned, there would always be people that hated him, even when he looked in the mirror. He didn't want to be around anyone right now. He couldn't. </p><p>He never realised how much his actions had hurt others. And now it was destroyed friendships and families. That was the last thing he wanted. Maybe he just needed some space for now.</p><p>As much as he wanted to be there with Cole, Lou was right. Cole didn't deserve him. Not after what he did. And even though he may have been wrong about him planting the bomb, nothing would stop his past coming back to him and doing something to hurt someone again. Especially Cole. He hated the thought of him hurting anyone. He already hated himself. It would've been better if he stayed away from everyone. Stayed out of sight and out of mind. Someone's words really can hurt people. Even Ben.</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Pretending</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jay had spent the rest of the day with Nya and his parents. He wanted to make sure they were okay over everyone else. Besides, now he knew Cole was with Ben, which meant he was safe.</p><p>But it was now around 10pm and he decided to go and check on them. He also wanted another small catch up session with Cole since they hadn't spent all that much time together. He was a little excited.</p><p>He peered through the window to see a rather worried looking Cole alone in the room. He opened the door, a frown on his face.</p><p>"Where's Ben?" He asked as he approached his brother.</p><p>"I was hoping you'd know the answer to that," Cole replied.</p><p>"I haven't seen him all day, why?" Jay frowned.</p><p>"He went to check on my parents as a favour and he hasn't returned," Cole bit his lip worriedly.</p><p>"That's weird... I just walked past their room and he wasn't in there. Maybe he went out or something," Jay suggested.</p><p>"Without saying anything?" Cole questioned, "I'm just worried that my parents said something to him. Especially my dad; he can be quite cranky."</p><p>"What do you mean 'said something to him'?" Jay wondered.</p><p>"Y'know... something that would upset him. I haven't exactly told my dad that we're dating. He doesn't like Ben all that much," Cole sighed.</p><p>"What?! Great, so that must've ended disastrously," Jay rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Can you give him a call for me please? I'm getting a little worried," Cole asked.</p><p>Jay nodded, "Sure."</p><p>And with that, Jay headed outside and stood out of sight. He did hope that Ben was okay and nothing had gone down with Lou or something. Jay quickly dialled his number and put it to his ear. After a few minutes, he finally picked up.</p><p>"Hey," </p><p>"Ben, where the heck are you?!" Jay exclaimed.</p><p>"I-" He began.</p><p>"Cole's worried sick! He said you went to see his parents and didn't come back. Did they eat you or something?!" Jay yelled a little.</p><p>"Of course not! I just needed to get away, that's all," Ben sighed.</p><p>Jay paused for a moment.</p><p>"I'm guessing something happened," Jay spoke quietly.</p><p>"Sabrina already knew that Cole and I were dating. Lou, however, didn't and Cole didn't tell me that he didn't tell his dad. So now I'm a complete idiot," Ben sighed again.</p><p>"What happened exactly?" Jay asked, a stern voice.</p><p>"Well... I went in there and already could feel the hate coming from Lou. I asked them how they were doing and he immediately responded with, '<em>it's none of your business'</em>," Ben began.</p><p>"Wow..." Jay murmured, ashamed of Lou's response.</p><p>"And then when I told them that Cole was awake, he told me to stay away from his son. I then told him that they were together and started attacking me with words such as pathetic and saying how I didn't deserve him because I'm a bad person and I <em>'killed' </em>Cole and that he wouldn't be surprised if I had planted that bomb just to hurt him and I-" Ben rambled on, his voice was shaking. Jay could clearly tell that he was upset.</p><p>"He said all that?!" Jay exclaimed.</p><p>"YES, JAY, HE DID. And now I can't even step foot in there. I just feel so useless and judged and hated and no matter how much I show everyone I've changed, there's always <em>one </em>problem. There will always be at least <em>one </em>person who hates my guts. Well other than myself of course... But Lou was right, I don't deserve Cole. And I can't even face anyone right now," Ben sighed.</p><p>Jay didn't know what to say. He thought Lou was a forgiving guy yet he was quite the opposite. He usually accepted and supported his son's decisions but the fact that he was spreading hate on Ben, <em>in front </em>of him too, was completely out of order. </p><p>"No, he's not right. Ben, you've proven yourself in front of us and Cole so many times. It shouldn't matter what one person thinks," Jay assured him.</p><p>"But it's not just one person that thinks that Jay. There's bound to be other people out there who hate me too. Ninjago will never forgive me for what I did," Ben argued.</p><p>"That shouldn't matter. <em>They</em> don't know the real you. <em>They</em> don't need to spend time with you. <em>They</em> aren't living with you. Don't let those haters, who don't even know you, control you, okay? We care about you, especially Cole. Those are the only people's opinions that should matter. Lou is a stuck up, self-centred b**ch. Take no notice of what he thinks. He probably hates most people on this planet. Please just come back because Cole needs you and I am NOT telling him that his boyfriend fled because he was scared of his stupid father's opinion," Jay shouted.</p><p>Ben fell silent. He never expected something like that to come out of Jay's mouth, especially since he hurt him the most. He was expecting something like '<em>he's 100 per cent right', 'Lou knows what he's talking about', 'people don't change' </em>but he got the complete opposite. As much as he hated to admit it, Jay was right. Other people's opinions didn't matter as long as Cole and the team liked him, which they did. </p><p>"Thanks Jay," Ben spoke down the phone after a minute.</p><p>"Are you gonna come back?" Jay wondered.</p><p>"Yeah," Ben stated.</p><p>"Great," Jay smiled before Ben hung up.</p><p>Wow. He was really getting into this leader stuff. And he was <em>loving </em>it.</p><p>Ben hung up the phone and Jay sighs. He was tired and stressed but he was pulling through. He had to. He put his phone back in his pocket and entered the hospital room again with a smile on his face.</p><p>"He's coming, don't worry," Jay told his brother.</p><p>"What happened to him?" Cole frowned.</p><p>Jay shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe he had a funny five minutes."</p><p>Cole thought for a moment. What if Ben was up to something? He hated to think about that but for him to just disappear randomly like that was rather suspicious. He wasn't jumping to conclusions, he just couldn't help but think it.</p><p>"You okay?" Jay wondered, concerned about the earth ninja.</p><p>Snapping back into reality, Cole nodded and gave his brother a fake smile.</p><p>"Thanks, Jay."</p><p>"Okay," Jay returned the smile, "I think I'm gonna go check on some of the others if that's alright."</p><p>"Of course. You don't need to worry about me, I'm perfectly fine," Cole replied.</p><p>"See you later," Jay grinned.</p><p>"Bye," Cole responded as he watched Jay leave the room. The lightning ninja closed the door behind him and wandered down the corridor, out of sight. Cole sighed.</p><p>What <em>was </em>Ben up to?</p><p>As Jay was walking down the corridor, he peered through Kai and Lloyd's room window. They were happily chatting with Ray and Maya. He smiled. </p><p><em>Better not bother them</em>. </p><p>Instead, he continued walking until he came to a room he hadn't been in yet. He glanced through the window, expecting everyone to be asleep. Inside were 3 full beds and 1 empty one. He opened the door and smiled.</p><p>"Jay!" Jake, who was in the bed nearest to the door, exclaimed with a smile.</p><p>"Can I come in or am I not welcome?" Jay asked them.</p><p>"Of course you're welcome," Tox spoke quietly.</p><p>Jay entered the room and closed the door behind him. Tox, Jake and Hayley were sat on their beds. </p><p>"How are you guys?" He asked.</p><p>"Mentally, good. Physically, not so good," Hayley responded.</p><p>"You two have broken ribs, don't you?" Jay asked Tox and Hayley.</p><p>They both nodded a little.</p><p>"It's okay, I'm taking care of them," Jake responded.</p><p>Jay nodded and smiled, "Great."</p><p>"It's not that bad at times. You just gotta try not to breathe too much," Tox replied.</p><p>"Sounds easy enough," Jay joked.</p><p>"How are Cole, Nya and your parents doing?" Hayley wondered.</p><p>"Well Cole is awake now, Nya and my parents... I'm not so sure. They seem to be getting better I think," Jay answered.</p><p>"Cole's awake?" Tox questioned, her eyebrows risen.</p><p>Jay nodded, "Yeah he's a lot better now."</p><p>"I bet Ben's happy," Hayley grinned.</p><p>"He sure is."</p><p>Jake glanced down at his hands, the smile on his face fading. But nobody really noticed.</p><p>"I'm happy for them," Jake muttered under his breath.</p><p>The other three in the room exchanged looks of confusion.</p><p>"Jake, are you okay?" Hayley asked him.</p><p>Jake nodded a little.</p><p>Jake had been acting weird ever since he saw Ben during the investigation. No one had really noticed except for Nya, who brought it up with Jay. She assumed that maybe Jake had thought something was going on between him and Ben. They were close after all. But there was also a theory that she had about Jake being the one who killed Cliff. He did give a pretty lame excuse for the gun to be honest. It just seemed a little too obvious for Jay to believe though. Jake was a sweet kid. He wouldn't imagine him hurting anyone on purpose.</p><p> </p><p>Down the other side of the corridor, Ben had arrived back at the hospital and was about to enter Cole's room again. He stood outside the door and took a deep breath. He had some time to think over what Jay had told him. The lightning ninja was right. He shouldn't care what Lou thought of him. He didn't know Ben all that well.</p><p>Ben pulled the handle down and opened the door, catching Cole's attention.</p><p>"Hey, where were you? I was worried sick," Cole greeted him.</p><p>Ben smiled a little and closed the door, "Just needed a break that's all."</p><p>"Is everything okay?" Cole's eyebrows creased in worry.</p><p>Ben nodded, "I should've spoken to you before leaving. It just got a bit much for me, sorry."</p><p>"It's okay," Cole smiled a little but it soon faded.</p><p>Ben sat down in the seat next to the bed and coughed a little, trying to make the silence not so awkward.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Ben frowned.</p><p>"Um... I actually need to ask you something," Cole told him.</p><p>"Sure, what is it?" Ben wondered.</p><p>"But I need you to be completely honest with me," Cole added, "And not hate me."</p><p>"Okay...?" Ben was confused. Cole was acting strange and it worried him.</p><p>"Did you leave for a particular reason? Like to do something secretive... I... I don't know how to put it... um.. y'know... like..." Cole said awkwardly.</p><p>Ben sighed, "You think I left to do something bad, didn't you?"</p><p>"You can't blame me for thinking it, I-" Cole panicked a little. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Ben's feelings.</p><p>"No, I don't blame you. Especially with the past I've had. And no, I didn't. I was sat outside the hospital," He replied.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Ben, I just-" Cole began, disappointed in himself.</p><p>Ben reached forward and held his boyfriend's hand.</p><p>"It's okay. Don't worry about it," Ben gave him a smile of reassurance.</p><p>Cole felt like an idiot. He really didn't want to hurt him and now he felt so disappointed in himself that he believed he would do something. Ben may have been acting but Cole could see right through him and he could tell that he was upset. </p><p>Cole sighed, "How are my parents?"</p><p>"They're good, don't worry about them," Ben smiled.</p><p>Cole breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm glad they're okay."</p><p>Ben nodded and glanced at the floor.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Cole asked, worried.</p><p>"Yep," Ben beamed. </p><p>"Thanks for doing that for me, Ben. I really appreciate it," Cole told him with a smile.</p><p>"No problem," Ben returned the smile.</p><p>No matter how hard he tried to block it out, the words that Lou had said circled in his head. It's all he could think about. It just frightened him that people still thought that. But he couldn't bring it up with Cole. Cole and his father were so close. He'd hate to ruin that now. He just needed to prove to Lou that he had changed.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. 1994</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Over the next few days, people were beginning to get released from hospital. Not that they really had anywhere to go right now but those who could, did. Anyone who stayed in the Bounty would stay in the hospital unless they needed the bed for someone else, which they didn't because there were plenty of other rooms for other patients. It was a large hospital.</p><p>Lloyd, Zane and Misako were told that they were okay but stayed in the hospital of course. Tox and Hayley were allowed to leave but take it slowly because of their broken ribs. Lou, Sabrina, Libber, Jake and Jessie were all allowed to go home. Wu was also allowed to leave but had a cast around his arm. Kai was soon allowed to leave too, but with crutches since he broke his leg. Nya was of course still in a coma. Ed and Edna were still on life support but were awake now. And Cole still needed to stay in the hospital so that the doctors could keep an eye on his progress. </p><p>Jay was sat with Nya in her room, just scrolling through social media on his phone. He was awaiting news about the investigation but hadn't heard anything in days. He was beginning to get desperate.  </p><p>Ben was with Cole again. They were just chatting and hanging out as usual. They were, too, waiting to hear something from the police department.</p><p>Jay was getting into something he was reading on the internet when there was a knock at the door. He turned around just as the door opened to see his mother stood there smiling.</p><p>"Hey mom," Jay greeted her with a smile.</p><p>Libber returned the smile, "Are you busy?"</p><p>"Not really, why?" He wondered.</p><p>"I was wondering if I could take you out for a few hours," She replied.</p><p>Jay thought for a moment and glanced at Nya. He didn't want to leave her side.</p><p>"She's gonna be okay. Ben and Cole said they'd keep watch over her. Plus, the doctor has you on speed dial," She told him.</p><p>Jay sighed and nodded, "Okay."</p><p>Jay put his phone in his pocket and stood up, smiling at his mother.</p><p>"Where are we going?" He wondered.</p><p>"Just for a walk I was thinking," She smiled.</p><p>"Sounds good to me," Jay replied.</p><p>The two leave the hospital and walk down the street a little. The hospital comes out of sight and it makes Jay a little nervous. He wanted to be there for everyone and he felt so bad for leaving them, even if it was just for a few hours. But no matter what he thought, he knew he needed some fresh air. He hadn't left the hospital in <em>days</em>.</p><p>Jay took in a breathe of fresh air and gently listened to the sound of the chirping birds. He'd really missed that. He forgot how relaxing these small, yet important noises were. </p><p>"I bet it's nice to finally get out of that place," Libber spoke out of the blue.</p><p>"Yeah," Jay smiled, "I love being with the others and all but I had to admit, I've missed it out here."</p><p>"Things will be back to normal soon, I'm sure of it," Libber told him.</p><p>Jay nodded. Although he wasn't all that certain. The team would surely be traumatised and it would be even harder now that they didn't have a home to go back to. It was going to be hard but Jay believed they could get through it together. </p><p>Jay sighed and stared out at the distance. The slight breeze brushed through his messy auburn hair. The bright blue sky really brought out his eyes and the freckles dotted on his cheeks.</p><p>"You okay?" Libber asked him.</p><p>Jay shrugged, "I'm just trying to stay positive."</p><p>"You're doing a good job," She gave him a smile of reassurance.</p><p>"Being leader is harder than I thought," Jay replied.</p><p>"Just don't think about it too much. Do what you always do. You always acted like a leader anyway," Libber smiled.</p><p>"Thanks mom," Jay returned the smile.</p><p>They continued walking in silence for a few minutes. It was good for Jay to get out of the hospital for once. She was surprised that he actually agreed to go with her. But she had to admit, it wasn't the only reason she had brought him out.</p><p>"Jay, I have a confession," She stated.</p><p>Jay frowned and glanced at his mother, "What is it?"</p><p>"I actually wanted to bring you somewhere," Libber told him.</p><p>Jay stayed quiet, confused as to what she was talking about.</p><p>She smiled, "Can you close your eyes for me please?"</p><p>Jay frowned, unsure whether to trust her, "Why?"</p><p>"I have a surprise," She grinned.</p><p>"That scares me," Jay giggles a little.</p><p>"Nah, don't worry about it. I promise you'll like it," She beamed.</p><p>"If you say so..." Jay closed his eyes with a smile on his face. He was a little nervous but intrigued to find out what the surprise was.</p><p>Libber directs him down a few streets and round a corner. She doesn't stop laughing the whole time. </p><p>"Stop laughing, you're making me nervous," Jay smiled.</p><p>"I can't! I'm so excited!" She giggled.</p><p>Now Jay <em>definitely </em>knew where he got his excitement from. After another few minuets of walking, they stopped. Jay had no idea where he was but the environment felt familiar to him. </p><p>"Aaaaaand... OPEN YOUR EYES!" Libber exclaimed happily.</p><p>Jay opened his eyes to see that they were stood at the bottom of his father's mansion's path. Ben was stood in front of him with a large smile. Jay didn't look happy.</p><p>"Welcome home!" Ben exclaimed, his arms in the air for a moment.</p><p>Jay began to panic, "Ben?! You're supposed to be at the hospital with Nya! Why are you here?! And what do you mean <em>home</em>?!"</p><p>"Relax, Jay. Ray, Maya and Cole are looking over Nya. She's safe. And this is your new home! Well it's <em>our </em>new home," Ben explained with a smile.</p><p>"What?" Jay frowned, feeling a little more relieved that Nya wasn't alone.</p><p>"You and the team will be staying here from now on," Libber told him, beaming.</p><p>Jay glanced at his mother, confused, "But... this is <em>your </em>home."</p><p>Libber shrugged, "It's too big for me. Plus, I'm sick of being there alone. Lou and Sabrina are letting me move in with them."</p><p>"You're just letting us have this place?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"Cliff would've wanted you to have it," She told him with a smile.</p><p>Jay looks up at the mansion in awe. He had always dreamt of being here since he was a little boy. He would walk past it, knowing exactly who lived there, with his parents. They would always tell him that the security would never let him in. Besides, Jay didn't even know that was where his birth father lived back then. He didn't even know he had different parents. He remembered those times like they were yesterday. Sometimes he wanted those times back. He didn't have a care in the world way back then. He was free to just be himself.</p><p>"I got a few people together to help me set up the place. It's got furniture and stuff in it so you don't need to worry about that. And you don't have to pay any bills either," Libber told him.</p><p>"You did this all for us?" Jay asked.</p><p>Libber nodded, "You guys have always done so much for the city. After everything you've all been through, you deserve a proper home."</p><p>Jay smiled. Ben looked up at the mansion too.</p><p>"I know its nothing compared to the Bounty but I just thought that-" She began awkwardly.</p><p>"I love it, mom. Thank you so much," Jay beamed.</p><p>Libber smiled and hugged her son. Jay hugged her back. As they pulled away, Libber placed the house keys in his hands.</p><p>"Enjoy," She smiled.</p><p>"I'm going to get many keys made and you can have one," Jay told her.</p><p>"No, Jay, that's not necessary. It's not my home anymore," She replied.</p><p>"It'll always be your home," Jay stated with a smile.</p><p>She thought for a moment and smiled. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. And besides, she had done all of this for him. The least he could do is give her access to the place that she had once called her home.</p><p>"Thanks, Jay," She smiled, "Now, I'll leave you with Ben. He'll show you the place."</p><p>"Thanks again mom. I'll make it up to you, I promise," Jay told her.</p><p>"You don't need to. <em>I </em>had to make it up to <em>you</em>. After all, I did lie to you about your past for so long," Libber replied.</p><p>Jay quickly hugged her and watched her walk off down the street.</p><p>"You ready for the tour?" Ben asked with a smile.</p><p>"You were in on this and didn't say anything?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"It was supposed to be a surprise. But I was in on it a little," He replied.</p><p>"You really have changed, Ben," Jay grinned.</p><p>Ben smiled. That's something he really wanted to hear. It had been so tough lately and to finally hear something like that gave him some reassurance. He felt more confident in himself now.</p><p>Ben lead Jay inside. The front entrance hadn't really changed all that much. In the front room, there were still a few of the old furniture and old photos and stuff around. Although that huge talking statue of Fritz Donnegan was gone. Jay was silently relieved about that. It creeped him out. </p><p>
  <b>(Why did no one tell me I've been spelling Fritz's name wrong. I just googled it and realised it's actually Donnegan and not Donogan.) </b>
</p><p>"What do you think of the place?" Ben wondered, smiling at the lightning ninja.</p><p>Jay returned the smile and continued looking around the room, "It's amazing."</p><p>"I know it's not like a proper ninja headquarters but it's better than nothing, am I right?" Ben questioned.</p><p>"No, I love it. I've always dreamt of living here," He beamed.</p><p>"There's also a training area in the backyard so you don't miss out on all that jazz," Ben told him.</p><p>"That's awesome!" Jay exclaimed happily, "This place is incredible. I can't believe mom has done this for us."</p><p>"She's the best, isn't she?" Ben smiled.</p><p>Jay nodded just as he felt a buzz come from his phone. He took it out of his back pocket and read the message on screen. It was from Kai.</p><p>
  <em>'The doctors need us all at the hospital right NOW'</em>
</p><p>Jay frowned, catching Ben's attention.</p><p>"Is everything okay?" Ben questioned, a little concerned.</p><p><em>'What's wrong?' </em>Jay messaged back.</p><p>He waited a few moments before he got another response.</p><p>
  <em>'It's an update on Nya'</em>
</p><p>Jay quickly put his phone in his pocket and looked at Ben, alarmed.</p><p>"This tour is gonna have to wait. They need us all at the hospital ASAP," Jay stated sternly.</p><p>"Is Cole okay?" Ben wondered, concerned about his boyfriend.</p><p>"It's about Nya," Jay replied.</p><p>"Let's go," Ben said, determined that it was going to be good news.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Let me down slowly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The team were gathered in the waiting room. Kai was using his crutches, which he had just only been given. Ed, Edna and Nya of course were still in their rooms. Everyone else were waiting for Ben and Jay to arrive so they could hear the news.</p><p>"What do you think they're gonna tell us?" Lou spoke out of the blue.</p><p>"I have no idea but I hope it's good," Kai stated.</p><p>"Yeah, I don't think we can handle any more bad news," Cole agreed.</p><p>"Don't jinx us, Cole," Zane sighed.</p><p>Everyone stayed silent. They had been waiting for a good 10 minutes for the other two to get there. The door opened and they all hoped that it was Jay and Ben. Instead, they were all a little disappointed that it was just the doctor.</p><p>"Hello everyone, how are you all?" She asked.</p><p>There were muffled moans heard from the group. She laughed. She knew how fed up of this place they were.</p><p>"Is everyone here?" She wondered.</p><p>They all shook their heads.</p><p>"We're just waiting for two idiots who <em>apparently </em>need to take five years to get here," Kai rolled his eyes, desperate to hear the news.</p><p>Cole shot Kai a look, "What are you saying about my boyfriend and brother?"</p><p>"They're idiots," Kai repeated.</p><p>"I can't argue with that," Cole shrugged.</p><p>"Exactly."</p><p>Libber chuckled. She loved being with this group. It made her so happy. </p><p>"Is Nya okay?" Hayley asked nervously.</p><p>"I think we should wait for the other two to get here before I say anything," The doctor smiled warmly.</p><p>After another few minutes of waiting, Jay and Ben finally arrived and wandered into the room.</p><p>"We're here! We're here!" Jay exclaimed, standing behind his brother. Ben sat down on a chair next to Cole.</p><p>"Ten years later," Kai rolled his eyes.</p><p>Everyone looked at the doctor, ready for the news.</p><p>"Is she okay? Is she hurt? IS SHE DEAD?!" Jay exclaimed.</p><p>"Chill, Jay," Cole told his brother.</p><p>"SORRY THAT I'M WORRIED," Jay raised his voice. </p><p>"I do unfortunately have some bad news," The doctor looked down at her clipboard.</p><p>"But is she dead?" Kai asked, sternly.</p><p>She shook her head, "No. She'll be fine."</p><p>"So what's the bad news?" Maya asked from the corner of the room.</p><p>"I doubt any of you knew this but Nya was actually a few months pregnant," She began, "And the-"</p><p>"Excuse me?" Jay sat forward. </p><p>Everyone exchanged looks, Jay instantly getting a death stare from Kai.</p><p>"NYA IS WHAT?!" Kai shouted.</p><p>"You're just as in the dark as I am!" Jay yelled back.</p><p>"Nya is... pregnant?" Ben frowned.</p><p>"Our daughter is having a baby?" Maya looked at her husband with a smile. He smiled back.</p><p>"HOW DARE YOU DO <em>IT</em> WITH MY SISTER!" Kai yelled in Jay's face.</p><p>"I DIDN'T DO <em>IT </em>WITH HER!" Jay shouted.</p><p>Kai frowned, "What?"</p><p>"I didn't do anything! I don't know how she got pregnant!" Jay exclaimed.</p><p>"Are you sure she's pregnant?" Wu questioned the doctor.</p><p>She nodded, "We ran some tests on her. She actually came here a few times to check on the baby."</p><p>"I'm so confused," Ben frowned.</p><p>"How can Nya be pregnant but not have done <em>it </em>with you?" Kai asked Jay.</p><p>"I don't know!" Jay shouted.</p><p>"SHE'S ONLY 17, JAY! HOW COULD YOU?!" Kai raised his voice.</p><p>"I told you I didn't do anything!!" Jay yelled.</p><p>"Wait," Tox frowned, "If you didn't do <em>it </em>with Nya, how would she be pregnant?"</p><p>Everyone glanced over at Tox, confused.</p><p>"Unless..." She stopped, a look of shock on her face.</p><p>"Unless what?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"Unless she did <em>it </em>with someone else," Tox spoke quietly.</p><p>Jay's eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head aggressively, "She would never."</p><p>"So explain how she's pregnant then," Lloyd glanced at the lightning ninja.</p><p>"I don't know!" He exclaimed.</p><p>"But who else would she do <em>it </em>with?" Zane wondered.</p><p>Cole instantly looked at Ben.</p><p>"Seriously?!" Ben exclaimed, a look of disgust on his face.</p><p>"You were the one who was crazy about her!" Cole folded his arms.</p><p>The doctor stood there awkwardly.</p><p>"Why the hell would I do <em>it </em>with Nya?! I LIKE YOU, YOU DUMBO!" Ben argued.</p><p>"Can we stop talking about doing <em>it </em>with my sister please?!" Kai complained.</p><p>Jay sat there in shock. He was so confused and freaked out. How could Nya be pregnant?!</p><p>"Tox might have a point. Maybe it's not Jay's baby," Wu stated.</p><p>"But why would Nya do <em>it </em>with someone else?" Ray wondered.</p><p>"Did someone drug her and-" Jake started.</p><p>"Do NOT finish that sentence," Cole cut in.</p><p>"Guys, can I explain please?" The doctor spoke up.</p><p>Everyone looked at her, waiting for her to speak. Jay was intrigued to know what happened. </p><p>"Nya didn't do <em>it </em>with anyone. She came into the hospital looking for advice," She began, "She asked me how she could get pregnant without doing, y'know."</p><p>"But why would she do that?" Kai frowned.</p><p>"She told me that she and Jay had a conversation about their future. They were talking about how they wanted to start a family soon but didn't want to do <em>it.</em> She explained how excited Jay was about the fact he might become a dad in the future."</p><p>Looks of shock and realisation shot across the room. It made a lot more sense now that it had been explained to them.</p><p>"She... did that for me?" Jay questioned, a small smile on his face.</p><p>"But aren't you too young to become parents?" Lloyd questioned.</p><p>"Did she not speak to you about it first?" Cole asked.</p><p>Jay shook his head, "I had no idea."</p><p>"Wow dude, you're gonna be a dad, congrats," Ben smiled.</p><p>"Thanks," Jay said, high-fiving Ben.</p><p>"I have to admit... you will make a great father," Kai muttered under his breath.</p><p>"What was that?" Jay smirked.</p><p>Kai stayed silent and Jay smiled. Had something nice finally come out of the fire ninja's mouth? Was it a miracle? Was he dreaming? Somebody pinch him.</p><p>"Um... actually there is something else I have to tell you," The doctor spoke up awkwardly.</p><p>Everyone directed their attention to her. She didn't look so happy.</p><p>"Because of the explosion, unfortunately, she lost the baby. I'm so sorry."</p><p>The room went dead silent. Jay felt his heart break into tiny glass shards. He stared at the floor, trying to hold back his tears. No one knew what to say. Cole and Ben exchanged looks of worry. </p><p>Ben turned around and tried to put his hand on Jay's arm for support, "Jay-"</p><p>Jay stood up, taking a deep breath, "I need to be alone."</p><p>They watched as Jay left the room, clearly upset, and walked off down the corridor.</p><p>Ben felt awful. He didn't want to make things worse. Cole turned to his boyfriend and placed a hand on his knee. Cole gave him a smile of reassurance.</p><p>The doctor slowly left the room, leaving everyone in shock.</p><p>"I feel so bad for Jay," Libber sighed.</p><p>"Yeah, me too," Zane agreed.</p><p>"He seemed so excited too," Misako spoke up.</p><p>"We should do something to cheer him up," Ben suggested.</p><p>"Like what?" Hayley wondered.</p><p>Ben shrugged, "We can come up with something, can't we?"</p><p>"Anyone got any ideas?" Kai asked.</p><p>Cole blocked out everyone's talking. All he could think about how Jay must feel. He's already lost so much and for him to find out that he was going to be a father but also <em>not </em>going to be a  father must've really hurt him.</p><p>Cole turned to Ben, "I'm gonna go check on Jay."</p><p>"Okay," Ben stated as he watched Cole walk out of the room. </p><p>He wanted to be there for both Jay and Cole but he also didn't want to get in the way. They needed some time alone to talk things through. Ben could see there was some tension between them.</p><p>Cole wandered down the corridor, looking in each of the rooms. He couldn't see Jay in any of them. He assumed he would have gone to see Nya but he wasn't in there either. He decided to go outside and look for him, hoping he hadn't gone too far. He was worried.</p><p>Jay was a very broken person and leaving him alone could lead him to doing anything. He was getting more and more desperate to find his brother. Jay wouldn't be in the right head space right now either. </p><p>
  <b>(Hello this is probably gonna be a spoiler right now but there's some stuff about suicide so if you don't deal well with that, don't read on. You have been warned)</b>
</p><p>"Jay?" Cole called out.</p><p>The streets were quiet with a few people and cars here and there. It was around 2pm so it was usually quiet in that part of the city. Cole looked around, not seeing his brother anywhere.</p><p>"Jay? Are you out here?" Cole raised his voice a little more.</p><p>He sighed. Maybe finding Jay would be harder than he thought. </p><p>"Jay, I know you're out here," Cole sighed.</p><p>Jay was never usually quiet so to not be able to find him was tough. </p><p>Cole continued looking around until he saw someone stood in the middle of the road opposite the hospital. He frowned, trying to make out who it was. He then rolled his eyes, realising it was Jay. He glanced around to see a large truck heading his way and the driver wasn't paying attention to what was happening on the road in front. Which also meant he wouldn't see Jay.</p><p>"Oh s**t-" Cole legged it towards Jay, desperate to get to him before the truck did. He was too far away and the truck was getting closer and closer. Jay was just looking straight at it. </p><p>"Jay!" Cole shouted, trying to get his attention.</p><p>Jay ignored him and stood there, watching the truck come towards him. Cole was beginning to panic. I knew something like this was going to happen and yet he didn't do anything about it. What if he had cost his brother's life? What would he do? He can't be without Jay...</p><p>The truck was faster than Cole. It was going at a high speed and Cole wasn't anywhere near close to Jay. </p><p>
  <em>HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO SAVE HIM?!</em>
</p><p>Cole stopped instantly, an idea popping into his head. He had never tried this before but it was worth a try. He <em>needed</em> to save his brother.</p><p>He threw his arms up into the air, his hands in fists. Without planning his next move, he smashed his hands down on the ground, his arms glowing a bright orange, causing the ground to shake a little. Right next to where Jay was stood, a small rock mountain formed and pushed Jay onto the sidewalk quickly. It disappeared as soon as the truck whizzed past. The driver quickly caught attention of what he was doing and continued on driving, not knowing what had just happened.</p><p>Cole's hands returned back to their usual colour and he glanced up to see Jay safety on the pavement. He breathed a sigh of relief before running over to him.</p><p>"Jay, what the heck?!" He exclaimed, catching Jay's attention.</p><p>His eyes were red and puffy. He looked like a mess, which was expected. He had been through a lot.</p><p>"Did you not see that truck coming straight at you?!" Cole shouted.</p><p>"Of course I did!" Jay yelled back, pushing Cole to the side and marching away.</p><p>Cole looked at him with a look of disgust, "What the hell?! Are you being serious right now?!"</p><p>"Why do you have to interfere with everything I do?!" Jay screamed at him.</p><p>"Because you just tried to take your own life Jay!" Cole shouted.</p><p>"Why do you care?! No one should care! It would be better if I was gone anyway. Now let me get on with it for goodness sake," Jay snarled, tears streaming down his cheek.</p><p>"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME JAY," Cole called to him, watching his brother walk down the street. </p><p>Cole chased after him, trying to keep up with his quick pace.</p><p>"Leave me alone," Jay muttered angrily.</p><p>"No, I'm not going to leave you alone. Why the hell would you think I would leave you alone after what just happened?! You aren't even going to thank me for saving you?" Cole questioned.</p><p>"It's not like I want to be here," Jay responded, his tone of voice was annoyed.</p><p>"We want you here! Now don't be so selfish. Why the hell would you do that to us?! Why would you do that to yourself?! Imagine being that driver and hitting you with his truck!" Cole exclaimed.</p><p>"He'd probably be happy," Jay stated.</p><p>"No, he wouldn't. He would be guilty for <em>killing someone. </em>Especially you," Cole argued.</p><p>"Just go away Cole," He snarled.</p><p>"NO!" Cole shouted, grabbing Jay's wrist. Cole pulled his brother back towards him, looking at the mess that Jay was in. </p><p>It broke his heart to see Jay this way. He had been through so much and for him to be so close to the end is just.... heartbreaking. That's the last thing he wanted.</p><p>"I can't deal with it anymore," Jay cried, trying to avoid looking at his brother.</p><p>Cole placed his hands firmly on his brother's shoulders.</p><p>"We are all here for you, you know that. We will help you get through this," He stated softly.</p><p>"This was my only chance to be a father," Jay said quietly.</p><p>"No, there will be other chances. Maybe this was the universe's way of saying you aren't ready yet," Cole told him.</p><p>"Well it's obvious the universe hates me," Jay rolled his eyes, more tears falling.</p><p>"It's trying to protect you. Raising and looking after a kid is stressful, especially for someone so young like you. Besides, with everything going on right now with this investigation and the countless missions, it would be unsafe to have a child. They might not have even gotten the proper care that they needed," Cole explained calmly.</p><p>"The universe has always hated me, Cole. <em>Always</em>. It hates my guts. After everything it's thrown at me-" Jay started.</p><p>"It's made you stronger," Cole replied.</p><p>"No, it's <em>broken </em>me, Cole. <em>I'm broken.</em>" Jay cried.</p><p>"We will help you if you just let us, okay?" </p><p>Jay shook his head, "I can't be helped."</p><p>"Yes you can. And I promise we will do whatever it takes to help you. We will make you better, I promise. And things will get better. Just don't do something like <em>that </em>to yourself. So many people care about you and love you. Like me, the team, Libber, your parents, Hayley... We all care so much, you just don't see it. And Nya, she's going to need you when <em>she</em> finds out that the baby is gone too. She'll be heartbroken. She'll need you. You can't do that to her," Cole explained.</p><p>"Yeah... I guess you're right... but... the suffering... <em>I'm </em>suffering... I don't know how much longer I can take it..." Jay sighed.</p><p>"We'll help you. I promise," Cole repeated.</p><p>Jay dried his tears and nodded a little.</p><p>"I love you, remember that," Cole hugged his brother. Jay hugged him back.</p><p>Jay always loved Cole's hugs. He was big and muscular, which made it so much better. He really needed one of those Cole signature hugs right now.</p><p>"You are a strong, beautiful, amazing person, Jay. You are the most caring person I have ever met and I really don't know what the team would do without you. You're the <em>protector</em><span class="u">,</span> remember? And I can't be without you. I just can't," Cole told him, still hugging him tightly.</p><p>"You have Ben anyways so it doesn't matter..." Jay said quietly.</p><p>Cole frowned and pulled away from the hug, "What?"</p><p>Jay stared at the floor, "You seem to be spending a lot more time with him lately. I just thought you cared about him more, that's all."</p><p>"No, I've always loved <em>you </em>more Jay. You're my brother. We have a bond that can never be broken," Cole told him.</p><p>"So do you and Ben," Jay sighed.</p><p>"Ben is my <em>boyfriend</em>, Jay, of course we have a special bond. But <em>our </em>story is more important to me. <em>You </em>are more important to me. You're family and my best friend. Bros before hoes, am I right?" Cole tried to lighten the mood.</p><p>Jay fake smiled a little, "I'm sorry Cole... I didn't mean to scare you I just couldn't take it anymore... the voices... they came back and-"</p><p>"It's okay," Cole cut him off, "But you have to promise me that you won't do it again, kay?" </p><p>Jay thought for a moment before nodding.</p><p>"We don't have to head back to the hospital if you don't want to. We can take some time alone, if you want," Cole suggested.</p><p>Jay cleared his throat and glanced at his brother with a smile.</p><p>"Can I show you something?" He wondered.</p><p>"Sure, what is it?" Cole seemed curious.</p><p>"Our new home."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Balancing game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ben wandered into the waiting room where Cole and Lloyd were. It was around 10pm and pretty much everyone had gone home. Nya was still in her coma, Jay's parents were awake and were chatting in their room, still obviously hooked up to the machines and Kai was with them. Cole had only recently gotten back to the hospital with Jay after they took a little break. They had been gone since the early hours of that afternoon. Ben spotted his boyfriend and smiled.</p><p>"Hey Cole," He greeted him.</p><p>Cole returned the smile before it suddenly faded.</p><p>"How's Jay?" He wondered.</p><p>"Well... he <em>wasn't </em>okay but I think he is now," He responded.</p><p>"How bad was it?" Ben asked, worried.</p><p>"Pretty bad. Let's just say he didn't really want to deal with it anymore," Cole said awkwardly. Lloyd sat there in silence. The earth ninja had only recently caught him up with what had happened.</p><p>Ben sighed, "We should've seen this coming."</p><p>Cole nodded, "He's with Nya now so hopefully he'll be okay soon."</p><p>Down the corridor, in Nya's room, Jay sat on the blue chair beside his fiancé. He didn't really know what to say. He didn't want to talk all that much. He just sat there in silence, holding her hand. He'd glance down at her stomach every now and then, thinking of the small human that would've been growing in there. <em>His child.</em></p><p>All he could think of was the future he could've had with his son/daughter. What would he name them? What would they look like? How would they act? Would they have elemental powers? He had so many questions that would never be answered. He didn't want to give up on his little child but it was already too late. </p><p>Another thing Jay could only think about was the numerous thoughts whirling around in his mind. All the pain he had been through was getting worse. It was all coming back to him. </p><p>Tears began to well-up in his eyes. People always told him to speak to someone about it. But he couldn't. It's hard to speak to someone if you can't find anyone who understand. <em>Nobody</em> understood Jay's pain. It was like no other.</p><p>This was <em>his </em>fault. It was <em>his </em>fault that he was like this. He always saw the world as a place full of cupcakes and rainbows but it was the complete opposite. He didn't think people would kidnapp you and torture you. He didn't think that you could lose the girl of your dreams. He didn't think that he would lose his brother. He didn't think that he would lose his family. And he mostly important didn't think that he would lose <em>himself. </em>He hadn't been facing the real world. He was hiding from it instead and this was his payback.</p><p>Some things break your heart, but they also fix your vision. Just like how Jay saw the world <em>now. </em>It <em>wasn't </em>all cupcakes and rainbows. It was full of people who wanted to hurt you and bring you down.</p><p>The boy that laughed and talked a lot and seemed so happy was also the boy that cried himself to sleep. Yet no one knew. It was like no one cared. </p><p>
  <em>I'm tired of fighting... I just want to be fought over for once. I want people to help me but they can't. I know that I have friends and I know that there will always be people that care about me, and I'm so grateful for them, but nobody will ever understand my pain. Never. </em>
</p><p>Nothing made him feel all that much better lately. He just needed to hear something good for once. He thought that news would be about him becoming a father but just like it always was, there was a dark turn. <em>Always</em>. There was this sick feeling in his chest. It was painful. It's like his heart was crying. </p><p>Nya had been holding his hand tightly, well kind of. He knew for a fact that she could hear him, especially after knowing Cole could hear Ben when he was in his coma. Jay just didn't know what to say anymore.</p><p>After about 20 minutes, trying to hold back his tears - he felt a little more refreshed now - he felt the grip around his hand grow looser. He didn't think anything of it at first but when the grip dropped completely, he began to worry. He glanced up at her, she didn't look any different. He frowned as he heard a long <em>beep </em>coming from the machine beside her. He looked at it, his eyes suddenly became wide. The heartbeat monitor wasn't picking anything up. It was just a <em>straight line</em>. The beep rang in his ears, his throat becoming tighter. He tried his best to breathe normally, hoping it was just a malfunction. He gripped his fiancé's hand but didn't feel anything. Not even a pulse.</p><p>"Nya?" He softly said, his voice shaking, "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."</p><p>He had never been more terrified in his life. He tried to stay as calm as possible, trying not to think the worst like he usually did. But when he felt no squeeze, he panicked.</p><p>"Nya?! Say something, please," He begged, tears forming in his eyes, "Oh shut up Jay, of course she won't reply, SHE'S IN A COMA."</p><p>He looked back at the heartbeat monitor again but there was still nothing. He glanced at Nya, her skin was pale and there was not even a sign of life. He looked at her chest, it wasn't even lifting up like it usually did. His breathing became quicker and heavier.</p><p>"Nya?! No, no, no, no," He said quickly. He quickly stood up and put his head by her face, trying to listen closely for a sign of breathing. He didn't want to believe it.</p><p>"Nya! Nya, please, do something, say something, breathe!" Jay exclaimed, stepping away a little, not letting go of her hand. </p><p>After another few moments of waiting for her to do <em>something</em>, he finally started to <em>panic. </em>He eventually let go of her hand and ran to the door. He put one foot into the empty corridor, the other still in the room. The door was wide open. Tears rolled down his face, terrified of the world around him. Why was the universe doing this to him? What did he do to deserve this?</p><p>"SOMEONE! HELP, PLEASE! COME QUICK!" Jay shouted, desperate to catch someone's attention. </p><p>A few doctors came from other rooms, rushing down the corridor to see what the commotion was about. Ben, Cole and Lloyd came out of the waiting room, confused looks on their faces. As soon as they spotted Jay in tears down the other side of the corridor, they rushed over.</p><p>"What happened?" One of the doctors asked calmly.</p><p>"SHE'S NOT BREATHING, YOU HAVE TO SAVE HER, YOU HAVE TO!" He exclaimed, crying.</p><p>"What?!" Cole exclaimed, his eyes wide.</p><p>"PLEASE, HELP HER," Jay cried.</p><p>"Okay, just stay out here and we will do our best," Another doctor told him, entering the room and locking the door behind them. </p><p>Jay stood in front of the window, crying his eyes out and watched as they tried their best to save her. Cole hugged his brother from behind. Ben was stood to his left, worried about the water ninja. Lloyd was just as worried; he stood on Jay's right. </p><p>Jay's hands were up to his face, he was trying to calm down, hoping they could save her. They tried multiple things but none of them seemed to be working. After a few minutes, they turned off the heartbeat monitor.</p><p>"What are they doing?" Lloyd questioned, frowning.</p><p>The doctors glanced at the window. One of them shook her head sadly at Jay. Jay instantly burst into tears.</p><p>"Oh my-" Ben sighed.</p><p>Without saying anything, Cole turned Jay around and pulled him into a tight hug. Jay cried into his shoulder. Why did the universe hate him?</p><p>"Jay?" </p><p>"Jay."</p><p>"Jay!"</p><p>"JAY!"</p><p>Jay's shot up from his bed. His forehead was sweaty, as were his palms. His breathing was heavy and fast. Quickly looking around the room, he saw Ben kneeled down beside his bed.</p><p>"Ben?! Where's Nya?! Is she okay?!" He exclaimed, panicking.</p><p>"Nya? She's okay, Cole's with her," Ben told him, confused.</p><p>"Cole?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"Cole and I are taking it in turns to look after you and Nya," He stated.</p><p>"I don't need looking after," Jay scowled.</p><p>Ben wiped some sweat off the lightning ninja's forehead with his sleeve, "Yeah, sure you don't."</p><p>Jay stayed silent, staring at his hands. <em>It had all been a dream? </em> </p><p>"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" He asked softly.</p><p>Jay nodded, "I thought Nya had... y'know..."</p><p>"What?" Ben frowned.</p><p>"I don't want to say it aloud just in case the universe hears me and gets ideas," He sighed.</p><p>Ben thought for a moment before realising what he had meant by '<em>y'know'</em>. He felt bad for Jay.</p><p>"Well as far as I know, she's making a recovery, okay? I'm sure she'll be fine," Ben gave Jay a smile of reassurance.</p><p>Jay smiled back. Just as Ben opened his mouth to say something, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He took it out to see that Cole was calling him.</p><p>"It's Cole," Ben looked up at Jay, alarmed.</p><p>"Well answer it then you dumbo!" Jay exclaimed, sitting up straight. He desperately hoped it was good news but considering the current situation, he doubted it.</p><p>Ben instantly answered it and put the phone to his ear, "Hey, everything okay?"</p><p>"Are you with Jay right now?" Cole asked down the phone.</p><p>"Yeah, I am, why?" Ben questioned, a frown on his phone.</p><p>"Can you put me on loud speaker?" Cole wondered.</p><p>"Sure," Ben lowered the phone and put it on loud speaker.</p><p>"Is it bad news?" Jay asked, worried.</p><p>"Actually, it's not," Cole sounded like he was smiling.</p><p>"Then what's your news?" Ben questioned.</p><p>"Nya's awake," He replied.</p><p>Ben and Jay exchanged looks of surprise.</p><p>"Seriously?!" Jay exclaimed happily.</p><p>"Yep. She woke up about an hour ago. The doctors checked her over, ran some tests, and she's gonna be absolutely fine," He explained.</p><p>"Oh my gosh," Jay breathed a sigh of relief, "That's something I really needed to hear."</p><p>"Yeah, that's fantastic news!" Ben smiled.</p><p>"You can come see her now if you want," Cole suggested.</p><p>Jay fell quiet. He looked down at his hands awkwardly. Ben glanced at him with a sympathetic look.</p><p>"She's been asking for you," His brother stated.</p><p>Jay cleared his throat, "Um... I might come by later."</p><p>Cole stayed quiet for a moment before replying with, "Yeah, that's absolutely fine. I'll stay here with her to keep her company. Take all the time you need, kay?"</p><p>"Thanks Cole," Jay loved how understanding his brother was. </p><p>"I'll see you guys later," Cole told them.</p><p>"Thanks for letting us know, babe," Ben beamed.</p><p>"No prob, love ya both," Cole smiled.</p><p>"Love ya more," Ben grinned.</p><p>Jay smiled at the two being lovey dovey.</p><p>Ben then hung up and glanced at Jay, "No one is forcing you to go and see her yet. Take all the time that you need."</p><p>Jay nodded, "I'll probably go a bit later when I'm feel better. I'm just glad she's okay."</p><p>"Yeah, me too," Ben smiled.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Gotta be a reason</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Deep into Ninjago was a small village. It wasn't very warm there. Most of the year it just snowed. The houses weren't big but they were definitely homely and suitable for a family to live there. The rooftops were covered in snow and the windows were a little icy. It was currently snowing pretty hard so no one was outside. There were a few people shovelling the drive ways. It was getting rather late so most people were starting to go to sleep. But in one particular house, everyone was still awake.</p><p>"Tell us more dad!"</p><p>Sat in the living room of a small home were three people. One was quite short. It was a teenage girl, around the age of 13. She had long black hair that flowed down past her shoulders. Part of her hair was tied up in a ponytail, a pink bow holding it together. She had green eyes and a wide smile on her face. There was also a boy, around 15. He had dark brown messy hair and blue eyes. He, too, wore a smile. They were sat opposite an older man in a black comfy chair.</p><p>The older man had light brown hair and blue eyes. There were a few wrinkles on his face but nothing that bothered him.</p><p>"Dad, come on, tell us what happens next!" The girl exclaimed.</p><p>"Calm down, Iris," The man chuckled.</p><p>"We're desperate," The boy responded, sitting forward.</p><p>The man sighed, "Iris, Luka, I thought I raised you to have some patience."</p><p>"You know we can't be patient," Iris smiled.</p><p>"Fine, what do you want to know?" He rolled his eyes playfully.</p><p>Just as the two teens were about to respond with 'what they wanted next', the door to the living room opened. Walking in was a woman, about the same age as the man. She had short black hair and green eyes.</p><p>"Jay, are you telling the kids stupid stories again?" She asked, smiling.</p><p>"No of course not honey," He turned to her.</p><p>"He's definitely telling us stories," Luka responded, acting smug.</p><p>She rolled her eyes at her husband, "What did I tell you about stuff like that?"</p><p>"Oh come on, Nya, a simple story won't hurt anyone," Jay gave her an innocent look.</p><p>"What are you talking to them about this time?" She asked, intrigued.</p><p>"Well he's telling us a story that includes you and all your friends," Luka responded.</p><p>"Jay," Nya glared at him.</p><p>Jay looked away guiltily. He loved this kind of stuff. She, however, didn't really.</p><p>"And it includes self harming, depression, loss, murder, suicide-" Iris began.</p><p>"JAY?!" Nya exclaimed, giving him a dirty look.</p><p>"What?! They can handle it! They're like... 20," Jay responded almost instantly.</p><p>"I'm 15!" Iris reminded him.</p><p>"I'm 13 but I really appreciate being called older. Does this mean I can have social media?" Luka wondered, grinning sweetly.</p><p>"No," Jay pointed a finger at his son.</p><p>"Aw," Luka pouted and stared at the floor.</p><p>Iris folded her arms, "Why do you have to be so overprotective of us?"</p><p>"Because I love you and it's for your own good. Who knows what kind of creeps there are out there," Jay felt a shiver down his spine just thinking about his children being hurt due to people on the internet. It was becoming more common lately too. Especially the cyberbullying.</p><p>"Your father has a point," Nya placed a hand on Jay's shoulder, "And as much as I love him and respect his decisions, telling you both a story containing such... mature content... was <em>not </em>a wise choice."</p><p>"Oh please, they need to know about this stuff. I'd be a bad parent if you didn't know. Just think of it as a way of protecting them. They'll know about the dangers of the world," Jay explained.</p><p>Nya rolled her eyes at him, "Jay, you're an idiot."</p><p>Luka and Iris giggled. Jay pouted like a child.</p><p>"But I love you for it."</p><p>She kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a little.</p><p>"So can I continue with the story?" Jay asked sweetly.</p><p>"Please mom, it's getting interesting," Iris begged.</p><p>"We can handle it!" Luka pleaded.</p><p>Nya thought for a moment before replying with, "But if you start to feel uncomfortable in any way-"</p><p>"Then I'll stop, I promise," Jay gave her a smile.</p><p>Nya glanced at the three people he loved the most. The innocent looks on their faces were hard to say no to.</p><p>"Fine. I'll be cooking dinner in the kitchen if you need me," She smiled before leaving the room.</p><p>Jay sat forward in his chair, "Alright, who's ready to hear what happens next?"</p><p>"Me!" Iris exclaimed happily.</p><p>"I am!" Luka beamed.</p><p>"Okay... so later that day, Jay goes to visit Nya in hospital..." <br/><br/><br/></p><p>Ben and Jay march into the hospital. Jay was feeling quite nervous about seeing Nya after finding out about losing the baby. He was so excited about being a father and for his dreams to be taken away like that was painful. He had had a few hours to calm down and relax. He was sure that he was ready to talk now. Besides, the fact that Nya was awake finally made him so happy.</p><p>"You're sure that you're ready to talk to her?" Ben asked.</p><p>Jay nodded, "Yeah. I'm just so glad that she's awake. I hope she hasn't gone amnesia or something."</p><p>"Oh gosh, yeah, I forgot about all that stuff. Do you really think that after all this time... she'll just forget everything?" Ben questioned.</p><p>Jay shrugged, "It's possible. I just hope the universe isn't against me today."</p><p>Ben gave him a smile of reassurance, "I'm sure everything will be fine."</p><p>Jay smiled back, "Thanks Ben."</p><p>All of a sudden, as the two are walking down one of the corridors in the hospital towards Nya's room, a person pops out of nowhere and stops them in their tracks. It makes them both jump.</p><p>"Oh my-" Ben sighed, trying to get his heart rate back to normal, "Jake you scared us."</p><p>"Please don't do that again," Jay giggled a little.</p><p>"Sorry," Jake turned to Ben with a wide smile, "Did you wanna hang out? I've got everything planned and-"</p><p>"Sorry, Jake, I can't right now," Ben responded kindly.</p><p>"But I've got it all set up and I really think that-" Jake continued.</p><p>"Jake, I said I can't right now. I'm really busy today," Ben began to get annoyed.</p><p>"It'll just be a few hours I promis-" Jake started again but was cut off.</p><p>"JAKE, NOT NOW," Ben raised his voice. Jake instantly shut his mouth. Jay stood there awkwardly as Ben glanced at the ground. He grabbed Jay's wrist.</p><p>"We've gotta go," Ben muttered under his breath and dragged Jay away, leaving Jake stood there sadly.</p><p>"Oh okay..." Jake sighed and watched them walk off.</p><p>Jay and Ben continued walking down the corridor in silence for a few moments. Ben felt bad for shouting at Jake but the two were in a bit of a hurry. And Ben wasn't exactly lying. He <em>was </em>busy today.</p><p>The two approached Nya's room and Cole was stood outside waiting for them. He smiled at them as they arrived.</p><p>"Hey, you ready?" He asked his brother.</p><p>Jay nodded, "I think so."</p><p>"She's in there. The doctors have done some tests and she's doing perfectly. She's recovering faster than they thought she would," He smiled.</p><p>"No amnesia?" Jay questioned.</p><p>Cole shook his head.</p><p>"Thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do if something else bad happened to her," He breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>Jay took a deep breath before entering the room and closing the door behind him. This was it. He had been waiting for days to finally hear her voice again and see her beautiful pale green eyes. He was desperate. And he missed them. He missed them a lot.</p><p>Cole turned to his boyfriend, "Since neither of us have to take care of those two for a few hours, wanna go on that date you mentioned?"</p><p>Ben sighed and smiled, "I'd love to, but I can't."</p><p>Cole frowned. That wasn't what he was expecting to hear. He was kind of disappointed.</p><p>"Why not?" He asked.</p><p>"I have something I need to do today. But as soon as I'm done, I would love to," He beamed.</p><p>Cole returned the smile, "Text me, kay?"</p><p>Ben nodded and walked off down the corridor. And now Cole was alone for a few hours...</p><p>The sound of the door opening startled Nya a little. She tilted her head to the left to see Jay entering the room. She instantly smiled and sat up as much as she could.</p><p>Jay stood in the doorway awkwardly after closing the door. He couldn't have been happier to see her again.</p><p>"Hey," She smiled.</p><p>Tears began to fill his eyes. Seeing her eyes glimmer in the lighting, seeing her hear blow slightly in the mind from the fan on the bedside table, hearing her angelic voice... it was too much for him. He couldn't hold back his feelings. He was <em>truly </em>happy.</p><p>He covered his mouth, smiling, as a tear trickled down his cheek.</p><p>Nya held out her arms, Jay headed over to her and hugged her tightly. All he ever needed right now was her. She meant everything to him and he felt so close to losing her. He never wanted to take another moment for granted again.</p><p>"I thought I was gonna lose you," He cried into her shoulder.</p><p>"You can never lose me," She hugged him back, happy to see him too.</p><p>"All I've wanted is for you to be okay," He told her, "I've never been more scared in my life."</p><p>"I'm here now, babe, okay? I love you," She replied softly, rubbing circles gently on his back.</p><p>After a few minutes, Jay managed to pull away from the hug and look her in the eye. She smiled at him. He felt his heart leap. He <em>really </em>loved her.</p><p>She slowly wiped away the tears on his cheeks with her thumb and gently placed one of her hands on his right cheek. Feeling her touch was something he'd really missed. Her hands were so soft and she was exactly how he had last seen her. Well before the explosion that was. Nya leaned forward slowly and kissed him on the lips. Jay's hands raised to her waist, enjoying it whilst it lasted. They didn't kiss very often because Nya didn't like all that lovey dovey stuff but he <em>loved </em>it. And he cherished it.</p><p>After a few moments, they pulled away. Jay couldn't have been happier. Nya put her hands back in her lap and sighed.</p><p>"Cole told me everything that happened yesterday," She told him.</p><p>"He did?" He looked a little worried.</p><p>She nodded, "But that's only because he cares about you. He didn't know if you'd talk to me about it or not."</p><p>Jay sighed, "I know..."</p><p>"I'm always here for you, okay?" She gave him a smile of reassurance.</p><p>Jay smiled and nodded. He sat in silence for a few minutes.</p><p>"Why did you decide to do that?" She asked awkwardly, "If you don't mind me asking of course..."</p><p>Jay sighed, "I just... couldn't take it anymore. It can't handle it. It's too much and I wasn't in the right state of mind. It was a dumb idea..."</p><p>"What was going on in your head at the time?" She wondered, concerned about him.</p><p>Jay shrugged, "It's hard to tell. Everything seems so... blurry I guess. I just feel like the universe hates me. All its done is thrown horrible stuff my way and I'm not sure how much more of it I can take."</p><p>Nya nodded. She knew there was a lot going on with him, he just refused to talk about it before.</p><p>"How long have you been having... y'know... suicidal thoughts?" She asked quietly.</p><p>Jay shrugged again, "I never thought about it before. I guess they just came out of nowhere. And after finding out about you being pregnant and losing the baby... I guess it just tipped me off the edge. I don't know..."</p><p>Nya nodded a little. She could understand where he was coming from. The things going on in his head were dark and twisted, much like everything he had been through. She knew he wasn't in a good place and she knew she had to be there for him. She was prepared to be of course.</p><p>"Can you please talk to me about everything going on? It's okay if you don't want to, I just want you to feel like you can talk to me, okay? I don't want you to be alone in this," She told him.</p><p>Jay sat there in silence for a few moments.</p><p>"I'm not going to lie... I'm not in a great place. I haven't been for a while. I could never talk to anyone because I felt like no one would understand..." He sighed.</p><p>"I know, and no one <em>will </em>understand but that doesn't mean talking to someone won't help. It will, I promise," She replied.</p><p>Jay nodded, "I'm sad, mad, angry and disappointed with myself. I just feel like all of this is my fault and I don't know... all of this stuff is becoming too heavy for me to carry. All I get is hate and pain and... it hurts. It hurts so much, Nya."</p><p>Nya pulled him into another hug, Jay hugged back. More tears began to fall.</p><p>"I'm just so scared that I'm going to lose everyone and not just physically. I've changed. I'm a completely different person now and I'm so scared that you won't like me anymore," He cried.</p><p>"What?" She frowned, pulling away.</p><p>"I'm not the same person that you started dating. I'm more sad and negative and-" He began sadly.</p><p>"No, no, no," She smiled, "You may be different on the outside, but that's because you've been through so much. You're still the same Jay that I fell in love with. Once all this is over, the old Jay will be back because you can never get rid of your old self. It's still there deep <em>deep </em>down. You just have to find it again. And you 'changing' doesn't make me love you any less. I'll always love you."</p><p>"You mean that?" Jay asked, drying his tears.</p><p>"Yes," She responded.</p><p>Jay was happy to hear that the people he cared about still loved him no matter who he was. Maybe he had been seeing this the wrong way. Maybe he was being too hard on himself. Maybe he needed to open his eyes a little more.</p><p>But at least now he had spoken about it with someone. At least now some of his hurt had been relieved and a small amount of weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He felt a little better now. But what would life throw at him next?</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. If I killed someone for you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Deep into the city was a small graveyard. It was quiet, no one around. Not many people visited that graveyard anyway. It was usually the bigger ones that were more popular. Not that it mattered.</p><p> </p><p>None of the ninja went there. They had no reason to. There were many empty spaces in the graveyard. No one really chose that one. Except one person.</p><p>Jake.</p><p>Why was he there, you ask? He was visiting someone that was important to him. <em>Really </em>important. But who?</p><p>The dark haired teen wandered into the graveyard, taking in his surroundings. There was one gravestone that specifically caught his attention. Right ahead of him was a grave. He headed right for it and knelt down before it. He smiled, placing a single red rose down in front.</p><p>"Here you are Lila, a single <em>red </em>rose," He stated quietly, "To represent the blood that you lost."</p><p>He stayed there in silence for a few moments, taking in the moment.</p><p>"The air is so fresh here," He said, "I bet you love it, don't you? It's so quiet, just how you liked it."</p><p>Jake had specifically picked her this graveyard. It was peaceful. She always hated loud noises.</p><p>"But don't worry about me being happy. I thought that <em>you </em>were the love of my life but then... but then I met <em>him.</em> Oh he's amazing. But that stupid idiot, <em>Cole, </em>took him away from me. But I'm going to get him back, I promise. Ben always deserved a guy like me. I felt the connection ever since we first met. But I would never hurt him the way I hurt you. Y'know... I still have the knife. It rests neatly on my nightstand. It still has your blood on it. I haven't cleaned it but I've taken good care of it. But I never meant to kill you, you know? I just hope that when I get Ben's blood, that I won't kill him too. That would be... disastrous..."</p><p>The birds sang in the background. It was peaceful and so relaxing. Jake felt right at home with his first love. He cared about her very dearly. But she was still with him. Looking down on him. She must've been proud.</p><p>"I will have Ben all to myself. No one will have to worry about Cole. He won't get in the way anymore. But I've tried already to get rid of him. He just won't go. Can you keep a secret? I first tried to get rid of Jay by framing him for murdering Cliff. He deserved to die anyway. He was a sinner. But I didn't keep <em>his </em>blood of course. Ew. I sent everyone on a wild goose chase. It was fun," He grinned, "But then everything turned around. Ben fell for <em>Cole </em>instead. There's nothing special about him. He clearly doesn't know the real me yet, but I'll show him in time, don't worry. He may have been mad at me earlier but as soon as I tell him that I planted the bomb on the Bounty just for <em>him. </em>He'll love me forever. I'm sure of it."</p><p>Jake lifted a single finger and rubbed the gravestone. He smiled, "But don't worry, Lila. I'll always love you. But not as much as I love Ben. He's perfect. He deserves to be with me. And he will be. <em>I promise.</em>"<br/><br/><br/></p><p>It was around 4pm. Nya and Jay had stayed chatting whilst Cole waited outside, just in case someone needed help or Jay decided to leave. Although he assumed that he wouldn't since they had been talking for so long. He just hoped that he would get the help he needed, even if it wasn't from <em>him</em>.</p><p>He had spent hours on his phone, waiting for Ben to text him. Whatever it was, it was taking a long time. He was getting rather bored and worried. He heard the door from the other end of the corridor open, hoping it was Ben. But it was only Jake.</p><p>Jake approached him with a smile.</p><p>"Hey Cole, have you seen Ben around anywhere?" He wondered with a grin.</p><p>Cole shook his head, "Nope. He said he had something to do but he'd text me once he's done. I haven't heard anything yet, sorry."</p><p>"Aw, that's a shame," He seemed really down, "I was hoping we could hang out this evening. Y'know, just the two of us. Like the good old days."</p><p>Cole raised an eyebrow, "Didn't he already tell you no earlier?"</p><p>"Yeah but I think he was just annoyed. Why not try again?" Jake smiled.</p><p>"I suppose... oh wait, Ben and I are supposed to be going on our first official date later so..." Cole replied.</p><p>"What? A-a date?" Jake frowned, he looked quite upset.</p><p>Cole nodded, confused by Jake's reaction.</p><p>"O-oh... u-um... that's good. Have fun then..." Jake began to walk away.</p><p>Cole opened his mouth to say something when the doors at the end of the corridor flung open. Many stretchers came through, carrying people that looked rather injured.</p><p>"Woah, what the heck happened?!" Cole exclaimed.</p><p>"Explosion," One of them responded.</p><p>"Explosion?" Jake frowned.</p><p>"Another one?! Where?" Cole asked, confused.</p><p>"Ninjago City centre," A doctor told him.</p><p>Cole frowned. Why was there <em>another </em>explosion? Was it the same person who had planted the bomb on the Bounty? But who would do that and harm people on purpose?</p><p>Cole quickly burst into Nya's hospital room, catching the both Jay and Nya's attention.</p><p>"Sorry to burst y'all's bubble but Jay and I have some, y'know, ninja business," He told them.</p><p>"What kind of ninja business?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"Another explosion. In the City Centre," He stated sternly.</p><p>Jay and Nya exchanged looks.</p><p>"Another explosion?" Jay frowned.</p><p>"Well where's Ben?" Nya asked, looking around.</p><p>"He had something he needed to do. I don't know where he is," He replied.</p><p>Nya raised her eyebrows and stared at the ground.</p><p>"Have something to share?" Cole questioned, folding his arms.</p><p>"I'm just saying... every time something like this happens, Ben is never around. For example, where was he when Cliff was murdered? He could've planted that bomb on the Bounty since he had access. Where was he when <em>another </em>explosion happened? Don't you think that's a little suspicious?" She questioned.</p><p>"Or it's just a coincidence," Cole glared at her.</p><p>"I'm just saying. He didn't tell you what he was doing either. It looks suspicious to me," She stated.</p><p>Cole thought for a moment. Ben wouldn't do something like that. Not now anyway. He had finally gained everyone's trust. But there was nothing stopping him. It's like Nya had said, people are still the same deep <em>deep </em>down. But <em>was</em> it Ben?<br/><br/><br/></p><p>Cole and Jay ran into the city centre. The place was a mess. There was rubble everywhere and people hurt and injured. Cole glanced around, desperately trying to find any sight of his boyfriend.</p><p>All of a sudden, he spotted Ben on the other side of the city centre, confused at the sight he was seeing. Cole rushed over to him, Jay following straight after. Ben smiled as he spotted his boyfriend.</p><p>"Ben! What the heck happened here?!" He exclaimed.</p><p>"I don't know! I heard a loud bang and screams and came right here," He sounded a little panicked.</p><p>Jay took a look at the surroundings. There were many paramedics around trying to take care of the injured.</p><p>"Did you see anything suspicious?" Cole asked.</p><p>Ben shook his head, "No, I didn't, sorry."</p><p>Cole narrowed his eyes for a moment, "You sure?"</p><p>"Yes," He responded, frowning, "Why?"</p><p>"Nothing."</p><p>"Not it's obviously something, tell me," Ben responded, folding his arms.</p><p>"No, it doesn't matter," Cole shrugged.</p><p>"You think I did this, don't you?" Ben rolled his eyes.</p><p>"You can't blame me, it seems a little suspicious, doesn't it?" Cole questioned.</p><p>"Oh so just because I'm out of sight for a few hours instantly means I'm gonna blow something up. I thought you knew me better than that," Ben complained.</p><p>"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that it seems suspicious that you weren't here and you have 'no clue what happened'," Cole shrugged again.</p><p>"Because I genuinely have no idea! I thought you trusted me!" Ben exclaimed.</p><p>"I do," Cole responded.</p><p>"Well you clearly don't. Why the hell would I do something like this?! What kind of person do you think I am?!" Ben shouted.</p><p>"Then where were you today?! Why won't you tell me?! Why are you always secretive?!" Cole shouted.</p><p>"Fine! You really wanna know?! I was planning our first date. I was planning a <em>perfect </em>first date. And because you're so <em>nosy, </em>here," Ben reached in his pocket and pulled out a small black box. He held it out for Cole to take.</p><p>Cole took it uneasily. He slowly opened the box to reveal a small golden ring inside. He felt his heart leap for a moment. Jay gasped a little.</p><p>"It's an engagement ring. I was gonna ask you to marry me because that's how much you mean to me," Ben took it back and looked at the box for a moment, "But now I know how much <em>I</em> mean to <em>you</em>. So there's no point."</p><p>Ben walked off. Cole stood there in complete shock. Jay didn't know what to say.</p><p>Ben wanted to ask Cole to <em>marry him? </em>Marry? Marry. Marry...</p><p>But why would he want to marry <em>Cole? </em></p><p><em>Ben </em>of all people wanted to make a commitment like that. Marriage is a <em>huge </em>commitment. The two hadn't even had their first date yet and Ben was thinking about their future together.</p><p>Cole had told Jay that he wasn't ready for marriage but after hearing that Ben was going to ask him to marry him, he felt the complete opposite. What if he was wrong? What if he <em>did </em>want to marry Ben? What had he done? He loved Ben with all his heart and to blame him for something like that so easily because of his twisted past was wrong on so many levels. And now it could've costed his whole relationship.</p><p>What were they going to do now? And <em>who </em>set off the second bomb?</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. The knife in my back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cole and Jay had called the other ninja to help the paramedics with the injured people. Kai and Zane looked around for any clues. Of course it was difficult for Kai to do much as he was in crutches but he did try his best. Lloyd and Jay checked on people and brought some into the hospital. Cole went to find Ben, hoping he was okay.</p><p>After making sure everyone was safe, Lloyd and Jay headed back to Zane and Kai who were still outside looking around with some of the police department. </p><p>"Found anyone?" Lloyd asked them as they approached.</p><p>Zane shrugged, "I can't find anything."</p><p>"It was definitely a bomb though," Kai added.</p><p>Jay sighed, "So now we're back at square one again."</p><p>"Not necessarily. Once people in the hospital are well, they could tell us or the police anything that they saw," Zane pointed out.</p><p>"Let's just hope that they saw something," Lloyd stated. The rest of the ninja nodded in agreement. </p><p>Jay frowned and began looking around the destroyed area, "Where's Cole?"</p><p>"He went to look for Ben. He's been gone for a while," Kai replied.</p><p>"We haven't heard anything from him yet," Zane added.</p><p>"Even if he did find Ben, I doubt things would go well between them," Jay shrugged.</p><p>"I heard they got into an argument," Kai spoke.</p><p>"It wasn't much of an argument. Ben walked off before anything could really happen. Cole said some stuff that made him upset. Ben then showed him what he had been doing today," Jay explained.</p><p>"Which was?" Kai raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"He had been planning their first date. Ben had also bought Cole a ring, which he was going to use to ask Cole to marry him," Jay responded.</p><p>"Marry?" Lloyd's eyes widened.</p><p>"Ben was going to ask Cole to marry him?" Zane frowned.</p><p>Kai stood there in shock. Ben had never made huge commitments, even when he was with Nya. Sure, he cared about those close to him, he did very much, but things like this were usually too much for someone like him. Especially considering his past wasn't great. But maybe he had liked Cole <em>so much </em>that he was willing to make those huge changes. </p><p>"I don't believe it..." Kai muttered, staring at the floor.</p><p>"I'm just worried that they're going to break up over it," Jay sighed.</p><p>"Why would they break up?" Zane questioned.</p><p>"Cole and I were talking about Nya and I being engaged the other day and I jokingly brought up about Cole asking Ben to marry him. He didn't take that too well. Cole doesn't want to rush into things like that. I'm just worried that Ben won't be so happy knowing that Cole doesn't want to get married just yet," He explained.</p><p>"I mean... they haven't really been together for very long..." Lloyd pointed out awkwardly.</p><p>"But they are very close," Zane stated.</p><p>"I've never seen Ben so passionate about someone and I've known him for a long time," Kai told them.</p><p>They stood there silently for a few minutes. It would be sweet for them to get married but they, too, thought that it was too soon. Cole had never been in a relationship before, especially with a <em>guy</em>. Of course there wasn't a problem with <em>that</em> but more of the fact that his family, mostly his dad, not being supportive of their relationship. He'd always been against gay couples and his son being a part of one would make matters worse. </p><p>"Guys, look!" Lloyd pointed behind Jay. They all turned around to see Cole, who didn't look happy.</p><p>"I'm guessing it's not good news," Kai muttered to his teammates.</p><p>Cole approached them with his feet almost dragging along the floor. He didn't look up at them. He watched every step his feet took and he had the most dull expression on his face. He stopped in front of them, Jay's eyebrows creased with worry.</p><p>"Did you find him?" Jay asked.</p><p>Cole shook his head, "I've looked all over the city."</p><p>"I'm sure he's somewhere around here," Lloyd told him reassuringly, "He couldn't have gotten far."</p><p>"I'm just so worried. I didn't mean to hurt him and... he was planning something so sweet too and-" Cole began sadly.</p><p>Jay reached an arm out and placed it on his brother's shoulder, catching his attention.</p><p>"Don't blame yourself. Nya was the one who put all that stuff in your head," Jay pointed out.</p><p>Cole shrugged, "I still shouldn't have said it. I'm such an idiot."</p><p>Cole covered his face with his hands. The team exchanged looks, faint cries in the background. Jay wrapped his arms around his brother, Cole gripping onto him.</p><p>"You aren't an idiot," Jay told him softly.</p><p>"Yes I am. He didn't deserve that. He's been through so much and I... I've messed it all up for him. I just wanted him to feel like he could be trusted and I've hurt him," Cole cried.</p><p>Jay didn't know what to say. He could usually think of something so easily but no matter what he thought, Cole was right. No, he wasn't an idiot, but he had definitely <em>acted </em>like one. He shouldn't have said those things out loud. And now Ben was hurt and gone. </p><p>"Look, I'll go find him and I'll bring him back, okay?" Kai told him.</p><p>"I've already looked everywhere. Plus you're on crutches, I can't make you do that," Cole snivelled.</p><p>"I'm no use hanging around here, am I? Besides, you could always do with another pair of eyes," Kai shrugged.</p><p>"Thanks, Kai," Cole smiled a little.</p><p>Kai returned the smile and began on his search to find Ben.</p><p>"Don't worry about it, okay?" Jay told his brother, "I'm sure Ben is fine. We'll bring him back and you can talk."</p><p> </p><p>A few hours after the explosion, Ben was sat in the middle of a secluded park on the outskirts of the city. It was sunny and the grass had been freshly cut. Under the trees, was a picnic blanket with food set out. That's where Ben was sat. He was slowly eating strawberries from the plastic tub beside him. Tears were falling down his cheeks.</p><p>All he wanted was to be accepted and forgiven but no matter how hard he tried to change, he was only seen as the guy who would cause trouble. And to make matters worse, his <em>boyfriend </em>didn't believe in him. The <em>one guy</em> he had trusted with his secrets and the truth about his past. He felt betrayed.</p><p>"Look who we have here."</p><p>Ben recognised that voice. He could recognise it from anywhere. But he hadn't heard it in a long time...</p><p>He quickly dried his tears and turned his head slightly so he could see them out the corner of his eye.</p><p>"What are you crying about this time?"</p><p>Ben stayed silent for a few minutes before looking down at the ground.</p><p>"I don't have time for you anymore, Rowan," Ben snarled.</p><p>"Why not? We're best buddies, right?" He replied sarcastically.</p><p>Ben rolled his eyes, "I'm not in the mood."</p><p>"I don't really care. I didn't come here to torture you but I guess that's what I'll do now," Rowan smirked.</p><p>Ben didn't say anything. He thought that if he stayed quiet then maybe he'd just leave. But he didn't.</p><p>"Aw, what's this? A picnic for yourself? Did your made up girlfriend leave you? What a shame," He teased.</p><p>"I told you, I wasn't lying. I did have a girlfriend," Ben replied harshly.</p><p>"Did? Aw so she did break up with you?" Rowan laughed.</p><p>"I have a boyfriend now," Ben stated after a few minutes.</p><p>"A boyfriend?!" He burst into laughter, "Like anyone would date <em>you</em>?"</p><p>"Do we have a problem here?" A familiar male voice spoke from behind.</p><p>The two boys turned their heads to see the master of fire stood there with an annoyed look on his face. He was holding his crutches, one of his legs in a cast.</p><p>"And is this your made up boyfriend?" Rowan smiled.</p><p>"One, his boyfriend is very much real and an amazing person, and two, who the f**k do you think you are talking about my friend that way?" Kai snapped.</p><p>"Excuse me?" Rowan frowned, getting in Kai's face.</p><p>"Ben is a good person and doesn't deserve to be treated that way. Unless you have anything nice to say, get lost before things get out of hand," Kai folded his arms.</p><p>Rowan laughed, "And who do <em>you </em>think you are talking to <em>me </em>like that?"</p><p>"Oh honey, you don't know who I am or what I'm capable of," Kai smirked, "And I don't think you know who Ben is either. Trust me, you don't want to mess with us."</p><p>"Kai, leave it," Ben spoke up.</p><p>"See, even loser over here knows you won't win in a fight against me," Rowan looked down at Kai's cast, "Especially with <em>that </em>leg. What happened to it? Got blown up?"</p><p>"Yeah, actually," Kai rolled his eyes, "And even with <em>this </em>leg, I'd still win."</p><p>"Oh yeah? Come on then," Rowan folded his arms and stood up straight in Kai's face.</p><p>Kai grinned and held his hand out in the air. Rowan raised an eyebrow at him. Within seconds, Kai's hand lit up with red and orange flames, causing Rowan to step back in shock.</p><p>"How the hell did you do that?! What are you!? A monster?!" Rowan exclaimed.</p><p>"The only monster here is you," Kai looked him up and down in disgust.</p><p>"Ugh, you guys are freaks! I'm getting out of here!" Rowan shouted before running off. Kai stared at the ground for a moment, a smirk on his face. He loved being able to do that.</p><p>"Kai-" Ben began.</p><p>"No need to thank me," Kai smiled.</p><p>Ben glanced down at his hands and turned back to the picnic.</p><p>Kai's face fell as he noticed how down Ben looked.</p><p>"Who was that?"</p><p>"That was Rowan," Ben replied quietly.</p><p>"The bully you told me and Nya about when we were younger? The guy at the orphanage?" Kai questioned.</p><p>Ben nodded. Kai sighed and sat down beside Ben on the picnic blanket, struggling of course.</p><p>"Was this what you were planning for Cole?" Kai asked, glancing down at all the food.</p><p>Ben nodded again, "You can have some if you like. It's all gonna go to waste anyway."</p><p>Kai shook his head, "You can still have your date."</p><p>"What's the point? The person I thought trusted me the most... <em>doesn't</em>. He only sees me like everyone else does," Ben sighed.</p><p>"No he doesn't. You know that. Cole <em>loves </em>you. He loves you more than anything. He loves you more than cake and that's saying something," Kai replied.</p><p>Ben smiled a little at the last remark. Cole really <em>loved </em>his cake.</p><p>"Trust me, Cole's really broken up about your argument. He feels awful. He hasn't stopped looking for you since it happened. He's searched everywhere," Kai told him.</p><p>"Well obviously not <em>everywhere</em>..." Ben sighed.</p><p>"Cole trusts you. He really does and he doesn't think that you would've done all this. You've changed," Kai added.</p><p>"Then why did he say those things?" Ben questioned.</p><p>"Because Nya was the one who put all that stuff in his head," Kai replied.</p><p>"Nya," Ben groaned and rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Cole's beating himself up over this because he's hurt you. That's the last thing he wants," Kai told him.</p><p>"He really doesn't think that about me?" Ben questioned.</p><p>"No," Kai gave him a smile of reassurance.</p><p>Ben smiled a little, looking at his hands, "There goes me being dramatic again."</p><p>Kai chuckled. </p><p>They sat in silence for a few minutes before Ben finally spoke up.</p><p>"Should I still propose?" He asked.</p><p>Kai nodded, "I think you should. I'm sure Cole would <em>love </em>to be your husband."</p><p>"Oh gosh," Ben whispered.</p><p>"What?" Kai frowned.</p><p>"It sounds strange hearing it aloud," Ben giggled.</p><p>Kai smiled, "But seriously, you should do it."</p><p>"Okay," Ben sighed, "But what if he says no?"</p><p>Kai shrugged, "So what? One small hiccup doesn't define your future, right?"</p><p>"True," Ben nodded, "I just don't want to ruin our relationship."</p><p>Kai smiled awkwardly and looked down at his hands.</p><p>"You okay?" Ben frowned.</p><p>Kai nodded, "Yeah, I just... I've felt the same. Well kinda..."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Ben questioned.</p><p>Kai shrugged, "I've had a crush on someone for quite a while but haven't told anyone because I'm scared of them finding out. It would ruin our friendship."</p><p>"Skylor, right?" Ben asked.</p><p>Kai shook his head, "That's what everyone thought. Yeah, I did like Skylor, <em>a lot</em>, but my feelings faded for her and instead I gained feelings for someone else..."</p><p>"Who? If you don't mind me asking that is," Ben wondered.</p><p>"Can you keep a secret?" Kai asked.</p><p>Ben nodded.</p><p>Kai sighed and glanced down at the ground awkwardly, "Jay."</p><p>Ben's eyes widened, "Jay?!"</p><p>"Shush! I don't want the whole of Ninjago knowing!" Kai whisper-shouted.</p><p>"Sorry, I just... I'm surprised," Ben blinked.</p><p>"Yeah well it needs to stay secret, okay?" Kai reminded him.</p><p>"No! You should tell him!" Ben told him with a smile.</p><p>"Are you crazy?!" Kai exclaimed, "He's with Nya, remember!"</p><p>"Oh yeah... I forgot about that," Ben giggled awkwardly.</p><p>"Besides, Nya loves Jay and I could never do that to her. I don't want to cause problems. They're perfect for each other," Kai smiled.</p><p>Ben nodded, "How long have you liked him for?"</p><p>Kai shrugged.</p><p>"You're really good at hiding it. I never would've guessed that you liked Jay," Ben stated.</p><p>"Stop saying it out loud, it sounds weird," Kai whispered.</p><p>Ben laughed, "Sounds like a real blast from the past."</p><p>"How do you mean?" Kai questioned.</p><p>"It's nothing," Ben's smile quickly faded.</p><p>"What's wrong?" Kai asked him.</p><p>Ben shrugged, "Just reminded me of how my sister kept her feelings from his guy that ended up to be her soulmate, that's all."</p><p>"Hold on... sister?!" Kai exclaimed.</p><p>Ben smiled, "Yeah I had a sister."</p><p>"You never told us that you had a sister," Kai frowned.</p><p>"She uh... passed away," Ben replied awkwardly.</p><p>Kai froze, "Oh, Ben, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. How did she die?"</p><p>"She was murdered," Ben stated sadly, "But that's all in my past now, that's all."</p><p>"I'm really sorry for your loss," Kai's eyebrows creased with sorrow.</p><p>"Yeah well I don't need people feeling sorry for me. I'm fine," Ben replied sharply.</p><p>"Are you sure?" Kai questioned.</p><p>Ben nodded, "Actually... I think I'm gonna pay a visit to her grave. You wanna come?"</p><p>"Sure," Kai gave him a smile of reassurance.</p><p>The two boys left the park and headed towards a graveyard just down the road. It was quiet and there wasn't really anyone around. It had a nicely decorated entrance too. As they entered, Kai spotted that there weren't many gravestones, which was quite relieving actually. They walked up to the back of the graveyard. Ben knelt down in front of a gravestone and looked over it. Kai glanced at it, his heart breaking for his friend.</p><p>"<em>Lila Miller,</em>" He read aloud, "That was her name?"</p><p>Ben nodded before glancing down and stopped a <em>single red rose</em>.</p><p>"I wish I knew who killed her..." Ben sighed.</p><p>"You don't know?" Kai frowned.</p><p>Ben shook his head, "The police spent ages trying to find out but they found nothing and closed the case."</p><p>Kai wanted to apologise again. He wanted to make sure that Ben knew he was there for him but like he said, Ben didn't want people feeling sorry for him.</p><p>"Well if anyone can solve a case, it's us," Kai gave him a friendly smile.</p><p>"No, just drop it. Nothing can be done now. It's too late," Ben sighed, "I just want to forget about it, okay?"</p><p>Kai nodded.</p><p>"Besides, it looks like not <em>everyone </em>has forgotten about her. Someone else has obviously come to see her, and recently too," Ben stared at the rose.</p><p>"You didn't put that there?" Kai frowned.</p><p>Ben shook his head.</p><p>"See, at least people remember her," Kai told him.</p><p>"I guess," Ben shrugged, "Y'know I should probably go and speak to Cole."</p><p>Kai nodded. He was glad that Cole and Ben would finally have a conversation but he couldn't stop thinking about Lila. Who had killed her?</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Hold on</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jay sat in the corner of the waiting room, beside the chair furthest away from the door. He was alone in the room, his knees up to his chest. The light on the ceiling was giving just about enough to light up the entire room. But only barely. </p><p>Everyone was busy currently. Cole and Ben had gone on their date; everyone was super happy for them obviously. But they had gone at the complete wrong time. Nya, who was now allowed out of hospital, had gone home with the rest of the team. Jay had stayed in the hospital for a few hours, trying to help with some of the patients from earlier on with the explosion. They were going great. </p><p>But just as he thought everything was going so well... it changed dramatically. What was he going to do now? </p><p>A single tear fell down his already red and puffy eyes. He stared blankly at the floor in front of him, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. He didn't know how to feel. He only felt the guilt and disappointment in himself. Sure, it may not have been his fault but he still could've been there. He was an <em>idiot. </em></p><p>And to make matters worse, no one else knew. No one had been told. <em>Except Jay.</em></p><p>His heart was so empty. The feeling of shear nothingness that somehow would take over and hold your soul and threaten to kill you entirely was all he could feel. He feared it. It was like this entire hole and been left in his heart; a hole that could never been filled back in. Those feelings came in waves, threatening to swallow him entirely. </p><p>The emptiness in his heart, the numbness pounding in his brain, the tears that one-by-one fell from his pained eyes... how could he continue like this?</p><p>The room around him was beautiful. The blue flowers in the plant pots on the windowsill, that made them look so bright on the dark canvas that was the sky, gave it a homely feel. It reminded Jay of his childhood home. But the only thing it was missing with the smell of fresh crumb cake that his mother made him. The lighting gave the room a rather aesthetic feeling. He tried so hard to hold back his tears but he just couldn't. His heart ached. </p><p>
  <b>Flashback</b>
</p><p>Kai and Ben eventually arrived back at the hospital, acting as if their conversation earlier on had never happened. Both Kai and Ben's secrets would stay hidden. They'd stay just between them. </p><p>Jay was in Nya's room, chatting with her whilst the doctor sorted out the machines that were connected to her arms. She was finally able to go home and no one could be happier. Kai had heard the news over the phone to Jay, letting him know that the two would be heading back to the hospital when they could. Cole, however, had set out to find Ben again. Not that he found him anyway...</p><p>The first place Kai and Ben went to was of course Nya's hospital room. They both entered, Nya and Jay turned to look at them.</p><p>"Hey," Jay greeted them with a smile.</p><p>The two boys replied with a hi back in unison. Ben glanced around the room, hoping to see Cole but he wasn't there.</p><p>"If you're looking for Cole, he went back out to search for you," Jay told him.</p><p>Ben sighed, "I feel so bad."</p><p>"He'll be back soon, don't worry," Jay gave him a warm smile, which Ben returned.</p><p>"Yeah, well, we've had a chat and hopefully things are gonna be okay now, right Ben?" Kai placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. </p><p>Ben nodded, remembering their conversation. </p><p>The doctor finished up and said her goodbyes to the team members. She then left, leaving them all in the room chatting. They spent the next half an hour chatting about the news or possible scenarios for the explosion, yet nothing made sense to them. Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.</p><p>The door opened, revealing around a 30-year-old woman with dark hair and light skin stood there with a baby's push chair in front of her. Both Nya and Kai's faces lit up.</p><p>"Kadie?!" Nya exclaimed, jumping up from the hospital bed, where she was sat. </p><p>The woman smiled, pushing the chair inside and closing the door quickly. Nya wrapped her arms around her shoulders, hugging her tight. </p><p>"Nya! Kai!" She beamed.</p><p>Kai smiled, "It's been so long."</p><p>Jay and Ben exchanged looks of confusion. They had never seen this woman before in their entire lives. They didn't even recognise her name.</p><p>"It's so great to see you all. I wanted to come sooner but then I heard about the explosion at the Bounty and had to wait," She explained.</p><p>"But you're here now!" Nya exclaimed happily and glanced down to look into the stroller. Inside was a small baby. Their eyes were open wide, bright green eyes and blonde hair.</p><p>"Aw," Kai smiled, "This must be Grace."</p><p>"It sure is," Kadie giggled, looking at the baby in front of her.</p><p>"I'm sorry but... should we know who this is?" Jay spoke up, catching everyone's attention.</p><p>Nya smiled, "This is Kadie, our cousin."</p><p>"Oh," Jay chuckled, "I remember you talking about her not that long ago."</p><p>Nya nodded, "She's just had her first daughter."</p><p>Jay smiled at Kadie, which she returned.</p><p>"You must be-" She began.</p><p>"Jay," He held out his hand for her to shake. She almost instantly shook it. </p><p>"Ah yes, the boyfriend," She glanced at Nya and back at Jay.</p><p>None of Nya's family except for her brother and parents knew about their engagement so that's something she still had to share. She was still wrapping her head around it. It felt like a dream. Jay understood that. </p><p>Kadie's head turned to the side to see the other person in the room, "Ben?"</p><p>"Hey Kadie," He smiled at her innocently.</p><p>"Didn't think I'd see <em>you </em>again," She laughed.</p><p>Ben laughed too and shrugged. They had first met each other when he and Nya were together. But that was <em>years </em>ago.</p><p>"But I didn't just come to check on you guys," She said awkwardly.</p><p>"Then why did you come?" Kai questioned.</p><p>"I actually wanted to ask you something Nya," She smiled sweetly.</p><p>"Sure, what is it?" Nya wondered.</p><p>There was an awkward silence for a moment before Kadie glanced down at Grace again.</p><p>"So... as you know, Joe and I live in a pretty... um... dangerous community? So anything could happen to us. And of course Joe is a military officer... And we've done some thinking and... well... even though we don't know Jay all that well, we would really like you to be Grace's godparents." Kadie explained.</p><p>Kai and Ben exchanged looks of shock. Jay's eyes widened and Nya instantly turned to look at him. </p><p>"Why us?" Nya questioned.</p><p>"Because you two are so caring and would be amazing parents. Not that I'm asking you to be their parents, because I'm not obviously, but if anything were to happen to me, you two would be the perfect ones to look after her. I know you always have a lot going on with missions and stuff but you're relationship is so perfect and-" She began.</p><p>"We have our ups and downs," Nya giggled awkwardly. Jay nodded in agreement.</p><p>"But what I'm trying to say is, you'd be awesome at looking after Grace. Besides, who else is there?" She replied.</p><p>Nya sighed, Jay didn't know what to say. She turned to look at him again but he just gave her a worried look. She knew that it would be a difficult decision, especially considering recent events.</p><p>"Can you give us some time to think about it?" Nya asked her cousin.</p><p>Kadie nodded, "Of course!"</p><p>All of a sudden, the door to the room burst open, revealing Cole stood there looking rather panicked.</p><p>"I've searched for him everywhere and still can't find him and-" Cole paused, spotting Kadie, "Oh, hi, I'm Cole."</p><p>Kadie smiled at him as Cole glanced up at the ceiling, not noticing who else was in the room. Jay and Kai glanced over at Ben, who looking rather amused.</p><p>"I'm such an idiot to let him walk off like that. Ugh! I've searched the entire city like twenty times and still no one has seen him ANYWHERE and I-" Cole continued, rushing. </p><p>"Cole, calm down," Ben cut in, trying to hold back his laughter.</p><p>"No, Ben, I won't calm down. I need to find him and apologi-" He froze, realising what he had said. He then glanced over at Ben, his eyes wide, "Ben?!"</p><p>Ben smiled at his boyfriend, giggling a little.</p><p>"Where the hell did you come from?! How did you get here?! <em>When </em>did you get here?!" Cole exclaimed.</p><p>"Not that long ago," He smiled.</p><p>"I found him," Kai spoke up.</p><p>"And didn't bother telling me?!" Cole frowned, anger in his eyes.</p><p>"Oh thank you, Kai. Thank you so much for finding my boyfriend for me," Kai responded sarcastically with a high pitched voice.</p><p>"Mm, yeah, thanks," Cole rolled his eyes.</p><p>Ben laughed a little. </p><p>Cole's face turned worried as he looked at his boyfriend again.</p><p>"Ben, I am so so so <em>so </em>sorry. Like I don't think there's enough words to explain how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you and stupid <em>Nya </em>put that stuff in my head," Cole apologised.</p><p>Nya nodded, trying not to be offended by Cole's remark. She knew it was true though.</p><p>"Cole, don't worry about it, Kai spoke to me already," Ben smiled.</p><p>"No, it's not alright. I was a complete and utter b***h. And I probably don't even have a good enough explanation and I completely understand if you don't want to be around me anymore, because I don't blame you but I really really <em>really </em>am sorry," Cole tried to catch his breath.</p><p>"Cole, stop," Ben laughed, "I know you're sorry and I accept your apology."</p><p>"Oh thank goodness," Cole smiled, "So we're good?"</p><p>Ben nodded, "I was also hoping if we could have our date still?"</p><p>"Should that even be a question?" Cole laughed a little.</p><p>And with that, the two said their goodbyes to the team and went off on their already planned date. Kai was excited because he was sure that the next time he saw them, they would be engaged. At least that's what he hoped.</p><p>Over the next few hours, Nya had received a call asking the two siblings to head to their new home to see Wu about an upcoming mission. Kadie had headed home with Grace, leaving Jay at the hospital alone. </p><p>Jay had decided to spend his free time with his parents. He had headed to Ed and Edna's hospital room and stayed with them for a few hours. They chatted about a bunch of nonsense and just all round having a good time. Jay was happy to still have the people he loved most in his life. He didn't know where he'd be without Nya, his parents or his brother. He'd be lost without them there for him. </p><p>It came to around 9pm and he had decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air. He had been locked up inside for most of the day and needed to clear his head a little. Nya and Kai had decided to stay home after their mission, hoping to get some rest. </p><p>Whilst out on his walk, Jay spotted a little girl on her bike. She had fallen off and was on the floor crying, her pink bike on the pavement beside her. Jay gasped and rushed straight over to her. </p><p>"Hey, are you okay?" Jay asked, bending down to her.</p><p>She glanced up at him, tears in her eyes, "I-I fell off my bike."</p><p>"Can I have a look at it?" He wondered, concerned for her.</p><p>She hesitated at first but once she knew he was only trying to help, she managed to pull herself up a little and show him her knee.</p><p>She had cut it open a little and blood was slowly trickling down her leg. Jay sighed at it and glanced around him.</p><p>"Where are your parents?" He asked her.</p><p>She shrugged, "At home."</p><p>"What's your name?" He wondered.</p><p>"My name is Riley," She told him, snivelling.</p><p>"And how old are you, Riley?"</p><p>"I'm 7," She responded.</p><p>"Alright Riley, I'm gonna get you to the hospital so they can get that cleaned up, okay? You might need some stitches," He told her.</p><p>"Stitches? That sounds scary," She hid her face in her pink wooly jumper a little.</p><p>"I've had them lots of times," He gave her a small smile, "Don't worry. There's nothing to be scared of, I promise. And once we get you to the hospital, they'll call your parents, okay? And they can come pick you up."</p><p>She nodded a little and let him pick her up. He held her up with one arm gently and picked up her bike with the other.</p><p>"Wow, how do you do that?" She asked.</p><p>"Do what?" He asked as he started heading towards the hospital.</p><p>"Pick me and my bike up," She replied.</p><p>He shrugged with a smile, "I've had a lot of practise."</p><p>"What are you?" She frowned.</p><p>Jay thought for a second before responding with, "A superhero from outer space."</p><p>She giggled, "Superheroes don't exist, silly."</p><p>"They don't? Then how come I am one?" He questioned.</p><p>"Are you really?" She looked shocked.</p><p>Jay nodded.</p><p>"Wow!" She sighed dreamily, "I wanna be a superhero too."</p><p>"Maybe when you're older you can be. I heard people who are called Riley become awesome superheroes," He responded.</p><p>She giggled again, almost feeling the pain from her knee go away. Maybe she just needed that distraction, the distraction Jay was giving her. Once they had reached the hospital, Jay pushed open the door with his foot and carried her inside, grabbing the attention of the receptionist and a nearby doctor.</p><p>"Hi, can I get some help over here?" Jay wondered.</p><p>The doctor headed over and watched as Jay placed Riley in one of the comfy chairs.</p><p>"How can I help?" He asked.</p><p>"I found this little girl on the side of the road, and she's hurt her knee," Jay told the doctor.</p><p>"Right," The doctor crouched down to Riley with a smile, "Where are your parents?"</p><p>"They're at home," She responded.</p><p>"Alright, we'll give them a call," He smiled at her. The doctor turned to face Jay for a moment, "Thanks, Jay. We'll let you know how she gets on later, okay?"</p><p>Jay nodded and smiled at Riley, "I'll see you later. And remember, superheroes aren't scared of <em>anything</em>."</p><p>Riley giggled and waved goodbye to Jay as he headed back down the corridor to where his parent's hospital room was. He felt good about himself. He had done what he was made to do, protect and save. Sure, it may have just been a little cut on the knee but to a little girl, at the age of 7, that would've been traumatic for them. </p><p>Jay turned the corner and glanced down the corridor. He stopped dead in his tracks, spotting doctors rushing in and out of his parents' hospital room. He quickly rushed up to them, spotting that the blinds to the window to see inside the room had been closed and there was a doctor blocking the door.</p><p>"What's going on? Did something happen?" Jay questioned, concerned for his parents.</p><p>"Edna's having a heart attack but the doctors are doing everything they can to help her," They responded.</p><p> "What?!" Jay exclaimed, "I need to go in."</p><p>"No, Jay, you need to stay out here, okay?" They told him.</p><p>"No, I need to be there for her. She's my mom," He argued.</p><p>"I know but you being there will only cause your mother more stress and could potentially keep the doctors from focusing. She'll be okay, don't worry,"  The doctor told him calmly.</p><p>"How can you be so calm about this?! She's literally having a <em>heart attack</em>!" Jay shouted.</p><p>"The doctors are doing everything they can. Freaking out about it won't help," They replied.</p><p>Jay sighed and stood to the side. He leaned against the wall, praying that she would be okay. His hands began to shake, his mind was blurry and he couldn't focus. So many things were circling around in his mind...</p><p>
  <em>Will she be okay?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What if I never see her again?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Did I take her for granted?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Please, mom, just be okay, I beg.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can't do this without you.</em>
</p><p>Minutes and minutes went by and it was stressing Jay out. He tried so hard not to freak out. His heart was beating faster than it had ever beaten before. He couldn't even bare think about how his father was feeling right now. He was <em>in there </em>watching <em>everything</em>. But at least he knew what was happening. Jay knew <em>nothing.</em></p><p>"Ugh, it's been minutes, when will we know?! When will we know if she's okay?!" Jay exclaimed.</p><p>"It can take much longer than this, Jay. Just be patient, please. Stressing out is only going to make you panic more," They responded.</p><p>Jay sighed and placed his head in his hands, "I should never have left her."</p><p>Just as the doctor opened their mouth to say something, the door opened, revealing a rather exhausted looking doctor.</p><p>Jay's head instantly turned to the doctor, a look of hope on his face. He could feel his heart beating out of his chest.</p><p>The doctor glanced at Jay and then at the other doctor. They slowly shook their head a little.</p><p>Jay felt his heart drop. Complete silence filled the hospital. It was like the world had turned to slow motion or that it had stopped completely. A cold shiver sent down Jay's spine as his eyes filled with tears.</p><p>"N-no... no you're lying," Jay shook his head in denial.</p><p>"I'm really sorry Jay," The doctor told him sadly.</p><p>"No," Jay said softly, tears slowly falling down his cheeks, "She can't be gone... she can't be..."</p><p>The doctors stayed silent for a few moments before one of them finally spoke up.</p><p>"Maybe you should go and sit in the waiting room, Jay. Once we've finished up here, you can come see your dad okay?" They told him.</p><p>"No, I don't want to see my dad, I wanna see mom!" He cried, "I just want <em>her!" </em></p><p>"Jay, please just go wait in the waiting room," They repeated.</p><p>Jay shook his head in denial again before running off down the corridor, leaving the doctors stood there sadly. They felt so bad for him.</p><p>So this takes us back to where Jay was now. All alone. In the waiting room. </p><p><em>I shouldn't have left her</em>.</p><p>The guilt was eating him up from the inside. If he hadn't gone on that walk, she could've been okay. He at least could've been there for her. But he <em>left her </em>to go on that stupid walk. But now he would walk into that hospital room and there would be an empty bed right in front of him. The bed that once contained his living, breathing mother. The mother that also had laid there <em>lifeless </em>just minutes before. That's why he couldn't step foot in there. Of course he wanted to be there for his dad but he just <em>couldn't </em>be in that room. </p><p>He had let not only his mother down but everyone that cared about her too. </p><p>
  <em>I never even got to tell her how much I love her. I never got to say goodbye. I took her for granted. Everything she's done for me... she was the reason that my parents took me in. It was her. And now she's not here. I loved her the most. I didn't even thank her after all of this. After everything I've put her through. How could I be so stupid? All I want is to be able to hug her again. All I want is to be able to hear her voice again. Her laugh. Her smile. Her kindness. She's like no one else. I never got to look into her beautiful, loving, caring eyes for one last time. All of the memories we've made together... they're gone. She's gone...</em>
</p><p>Jay's thoughts were interrupted with the door opening. He didn't bother looking up. He didn't bother to care who it was. He just wanted to be alone. To blame himself. To hate himself. </p><p>"Jay?" </p><p>Jay recognised that voice from anywhere. He quickly looked up to see his brother stood by his side. He crouched down to Jay's height, a concerned look on his face.</p><p>"Are you okay?" He asked, a worried tone of voice.</p><p>Another tear fell from his eye. Cole could see the look of pain in his eyes. He knew <em>something </em>had happened but he didn't know <em>what</em>. But now he was determined. And concerned. Jay was never like this unless he had lost someone. Someone close to him.</p><p>"Jay, what happened?" Cole asked softly.</p><p>"Mom..." He whispered, his voice shaking, "She's gone..."</p><p>More tears fell from his eyes as he rested his forehead on his knees, looking down into his lap. Cole sat there in shock, his heart racing.</p><p>"What?" Cole muttered. </p><p>"She had a heart attack," Jay told him quietly, trying to hold back his tears.</p><p>"Oh Jay," Cole sighed, pulling his brother into a hug. </p><p>Jay held on tight to his brother, feeling like he was the only person he had right now. He had been through so much, especially with loss. It seemed like the only thing he'd do now is just grieve. First Cole, then his dad, his unborn son, and now his mother? After losing so much, he was just so grateful that Cole stuck by him. He was just so grateful to be able to hold Cole and feel him rather than imagining it. </p><p>He always knew that this time would come. The time that he would lose his parents. They were getting older and weaker with every step they made and every breath they took but he never imagined it to be this soon. There were times that he would play this stuff in his head, hoping that it wouldn't hit him too hard if he had already imagined it, but it hit him way harder than he ever thought. It was so much worse.</p><p>But seriously... <em>why did the universe hate him?</em></p><p>"We both know that she wouldn't want you to be upset," Cole told his brother calmly.</p><p>Jay continued to cry into his brother's shoulder, clutching on tight to his shirt. Just as long as he had someone he could hug or hold onto, he would be fine. <em>Perfectly fine. </em></p><p>"But I can't live without her Cole... I just can't..." He cried quietly.</p><p>"Yes you can. You know that we're all here for you. We're all here when you need us. <em>I'm </em>always here. Anything that you need, I will be here for you no matter what. I promise," Cole replied.</p><p>"Please, Cole, just <em>please </em>don't leave me," Jay clutched on tighter, burying his head between his neck and his slightly raised shoulder.</p><p>"I will never leave you, I promise with my life. You need me more than anything right now and I promise that I won't leave your side, okay?" Cole responded, tears also filling his eyes. He tried his best to hold them back, trying to stay strong for his brother.</p><p>"I love you so much, Cole," Jay told him, tears falling down his cheeks. </p><p>"I love you more than anything, Jay," Cole replied, clutching onto him tighter.</p><p>All Jay wanted right now was for someone to care about him. Someone to be there for him. And Cole would be that person. Cole was <em>not </em>going to leave his side. </p><p>Jay wasn't going to take <em>anyone </em>for granted anymore. Nya... Cole... Libber... the team... <em>no one</em>. And he was most certainly not going to leave anyone's side, especially when they needed him the most. He just wanted to see his mother again. Things would be so much different without her.</p><p>"Hey," Cole pulled away from the hug, wiping away some of Jay's tears. Jay clutched onto Cole's sleeves, making sure that he wouldn't leave his grasp.</p><p>"You may not be Edna's biological son, but you definitely have her traits. She was so kind, caring and loving. Just like you. And she will <em>never </em>leave you either. She'll always be looking down on you and will <em>always </em>be so <em>so </em>proud of you, Jay. You're like a mini Edna," Cole explained softly.</p><p>Jay nodded, giving him a very <em>very </em>faint smile.</p><p>"And I will personally make sure that no one will forget her. Not that we ever will. She had such a sweet soul, Jay. Your mother will <em>always </em>be with us. She'll always be with <em>you</em>," Cole told him.</p><p>Jay didn't say anything. All he did was wrap his arms around his brother again, pulling him closer to him. Feeling his heartbeat meant the world to him. He never before realised how much Cole really meant to him. It's just like they say... you never know how much someone means to you until it's too late. It may have been too late for Jay to tell Edna but it was definitely not too late for Cole. </p><p>Jay grabbed the back of his brother's shirt and placing his head on his shoulder again. Cole held Jay close to him, grateful that the world hadn't taken him away yet. Maybe Cole had taken Jay for granted too...</p><p>No one knew how deep Jay's mind was. No one knew <em>exactly </em>what happened inside his head. But Cole knew that it was bad and he knew for a fact that he needed someone more than ever. Cole was the only person who could be there. Not only was he his brother, but they used to be best friends too; they still are. Ever since the day that they first met, they were instantly best friends. They had a special bond. A bond that could never be broken. The love between two partners may not have been the strongest force on earth. Maybe it was <em>brotherly </em>love instead.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. 'Cause it hurts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been an hour since Cole had found Jay. He'd tried so hard to lighten the mood but nothing as working. Jay had just lost his mother, of course he'd be upset, but the team still needed their leader. They needed some positivity. Cole needed Jay to be okay. Jay hadn't said much. What <em>could</em> he say?</p><p>"You okay?" Cole asked softly.</p><p>Jay shrugged, his knees still pulled up to his chest. His eyes were red and puffy, just like they were earlier. There were times where he was close to breaking down again but he knew he had to stay strong. He didn't want to put all this pressure on Cole. Not right now.</p><p>"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" He wondered.</p><p>Jay thought for a second before clearing his throat.</p><p>"I know I said to never leave my side, but..." He paused, "Can you please go check on my dad? I just want to make sure he's okay."</p><p>Cole nodded.</p><p>"I would go myself but... I just can't be in that room," Jay glanced down at his hands awkwardly.</p><p>Cole placed a hand on his brother's knee, catching his attention.</p><p>He gave him a warm smile, "Of course. Will you be okay here on your own?"</p><p>Jay nodded and returned the smile a little. Cole shot him one last smile before getting up and leaving the room, heading to go see Ed.</p><p>Jay was left alone for the next few minutes. He so badly wanted to see Ed. After all, he did witness it all. He witnessed his wife <em>die</em>. Something like that would never leave your brain. But at the same time, Jay wasn't okay and he just needed time to wrap his head around things. There was no way he could step foot in that room without bursting into tears. It'd be too much for him to handle, even if he had Cole there for him. </p><p>Just as Jay was about to break down again, the door swung open and a little girl stood in the doorway. He glanced up at her, a small fake smile growing on his face. </p><p>"Superhero Jay!" She exclaimed, rushing over to him.</p><p>"Hi Riley," Jay greeted her. </p><p>"Why are you sad?" She asked, worry in her eyes.</p><p>"I'm not sad," He replied.</p><p>"But you look sad," She stated.</p><p>"It's no big deal, don't worry about it," Jay glanced down at Riley's knee, "Hey, you got it all fixed."</p><p>"Yeah! It didn't hurt at all! I got a lollypop too," She giggled.</p><p>"I knew you could do it," Jay smiled.</p><p>"My mommy is coming to pick me up soon too," She beamed.</p><p>As soon as he heard that specific word, the only thing he could think about was his mother. But he tried so hard to not be upset.</p><p>"That's great," He gave her a fake smile.</p><p>"My mommy is the best. She always makes sure I'm okay," She smiled.</p><p>Jay nodded, remembering to stay positive. He was happy that Riley's mother was coming for her. He really was.</p><p>"What about your mommy? Does she make sure you're okay too?" Riley wondered.</p><p>Jay thought to himself for a moment before nodding.</p><p>"She was the best," He smiled.</p><p>"Where is she?" Riley asked.</p><p>"In a special place," Jay replied quietly, "Hey, can you just promise me one thing?"</p><p>Riley nodded.</p><p>"Don't take your mom for granted. Make sure she knows how much you love and appreciate her, okay? Moms are important," Jay told her.</p><p>She nodded quickly, a smile on her face.</p><p>Just as Jay opened his mouth to say something else, the door opened again. A woman, much taller than Jay, with blonde hair was stood at the door, a look of worry in her eyes.</p><p>"Riley?" </p><p>"Mommy!" Riley beamed, running towards her mother. Jay smiled.</p><p>They hugged for a few moments before the mother turned to Jay.</p><p>"Thank you so much," She smiled.</p><p>Jay returned the smile as Riley turned back to him.</p><p>"One day, I'm gonna be a superhero just like you! Because superheroes are never scared and superheroes never give up!" She exclaimed.</p><p>Jay giggled a little as he watched them walk off. The door closed, Jay's gaze fixing towards the floor. Riley was right. Superheroes never gave up. Jay couldn't give up on finding out who set off the bombs and killed his father. He couldn't wait any longer. Not only had this person killed Cliff but had planted the bomb that killed Skylor, his unborn child <em>and </em>his mother. He couldn't let anything come in the way of figuring out who did this and making them pay. </p><p>After about 10 minutes, Cole entered the room again, catching Jay's attention.</p><p>"How is he?" He asked, concern in his voice.</p><p>Cole nodded, "He'll be okay. He's traumatised but hopefully, with the right support, he should be fine. He's more worried about you though."</p><p>Jay sighed, "He shouldn't be worried about me."</p><p>"That's what I told him. But you can't wait much longer to go see him. He really needs some support," He told him.</p><p>They sat in silence for another few moments before Jay glanced up at him with a small smirk.</p><p>"So.... what happened on your date?" Jay asked.</p><p>"A lot," Cole smiled.</p><p>"Like what?" Jay grinned.</p><p>"Well..." </p><p>
  <em>
    <b>Flashback</b>
  </em>
</p><p>It was around midday when Cole and Ben had arrived at the picnic spot Ben had chosen. It was still in perfect shape, just like how it had been left. Cole's eyes were covered by Ben's hands. Ben had a huge grin on his face; he couldn't wait to see Cole's reaction.</p><p>"Okay, okay, you ready?" Ben asked his boyfriend.</p><p>"Hurry up before I stand on your foot, and I'm not talking about doing it accidentally this time," Cole replied jokingly.</p><p>Ben beamed and quickly removed his hands, "Surprise!"</p><p>Cole glanced over at the picnic, his eyes lighting up. There were so many different foods, most of which were Cole's favourites, and it was so well set up. Cole turned back to look at his boyfriend, who had a hopeful look on his face.</p><p>"You did all this for us?" He asked.</p><p>Ben shrugged, "I did it for <em>you</em>."</p><p>"That is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. Thank you," Cole smiled. </p><p>Ben smiled too. Being in Cole's presence made him so <em>so </em>happy, especially to be able to call Cole  his yet he was still so nervous about his big question. He was unsure at first but Kai had encouraged him to continue. He was just so scared of being rejected. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin their relationship.</p><p>"Well then, let's go sit down," Ben beamed.</p><p>The two sat down on the picnic blanket and began to eat whilst they chatted about anything random that came into their minds. After all the stress and drama lately, it was nice to be able to unwind and finally have some time to themselves. They really missed this sort of moment. And this first date had been a long time coming. </p><p>Yes, Cole and Ben had their ups and downs but their love was undeniable. They weren't anything compared to Jay and Nya but they definitely loved each other more than anything and were willing to protect each other no matter what. Cole had always protected his boyfriend. He always would. And Ben would always be there when Cole needed him. It wasn't a one sided relationship, they were both in it for the long run. Perhaps you could say they were <em>endgame</em>. </p><p>After a few hours had passed, Ben was beginning to get more and more nervous. He kept spacing out and Cole was getting worried.</p><p>"Hey, are you okay? You seem distant," Cole's eyebrows creased with worry. </p><p>Ben nodded, "Just thinking a lot, that's all."</p><p>"Maybe we should call it a day. You don't seem like yourself," Cole suggested.</p><p>Ben panicked and reached for Cole's hand, "No! I mean... there's no need. I'm fine."</p><p>"Are you sure?" Cole frowned.</p><p>Ben nodded, "Just got a lot on my mind at the moment, that's all."</p><p>"You wanna talk about it? I'm a good listener," Cole joked.</p><p>Ben smiled a little before shaking his head, "Nah, I'm good."</p><p>"It is getting late though," Cole shrugged.</p><p>"But our date can't end yet!" Ben exclaimed.</p><p>"Okay, I get this date was important to you but we're ninja, remember? We have to look after Ninjago," Cole laughed.</p><p>"I know, I just... need to ask you something," Ben blurted out.</p><p>Cole frowned, "Is everything okay?" </p><p>Ben stood up and reached for Cole's hand. He slowly put it in his boyfriend's hand and Ben helped him up. Ben took a deep breath and reached into his pocket, trying not to think about it too much.</p><p>"Ben, are you alright?" Cole asked, worry in his voice.</p><p>"You mean the world to me Cole and, even though our relationship is like a rollercoaster, it means so much to me and I don't know if I could ever live without you," Ben began, pulling a small black box out of his pocket. </p><p>Cole glanced down at it, recognising the box. His eyes widened.</p><p>"I can't imagine being with anyone else," Ben continued before taking another deep breath.</p><p>Ben knelt down on one knee and opened the box, "Cole Bucket..."</p><p>"Ben," Cole said, trying to get his attention.</p><p>"Will you mar-" </p><p>"Ben, get up," Cole told him, concern in his eyes. </p><p>Ben stopped, his heart racing. Why was Cole stopping him? Ben slowly closed the box and stood up, his breathing heavy.</p><p>"I-" Cole struggled to find the words, "I can't marry you."</p><p>Ben felt his heart drop through his chest. </p><p>"W-what?"</p><p>"Just please let me explain myself," Cole sighed.</p><p>Ben could feel his eyes tearing up but he tried so hard to hide it. He was <em>heartbroken</em>.</p><p>"It's not that I don't want to marry you Ben, it's just that... neither of us are ready for a huge commitment like that. We both have so much going on in our lives and I feel like marriage..." Cole sighed, "We'd be rushing things. I don't want to potentially ruin our relationship."</p><p>"But we love each other. You love me, don't you?" Ben questioned, a tear slowly rolling down his cheek.</p><p>"Of course I do! I love you more than anything!" Cole replied.</p><p>"Then let's get married," Ben gave him a warm smile.</p><p>"I can't," Cole sighed again, "Believe me, I would <em>love </em>to get married but we haven't been together that long and I'm just so scared that we'd be rushing things. I want to take things slow with you Ben. I want to make this relationship work. And if we get married, we <em>can't.</em>" </p><p>Ben thought for a moment. Cole was right. Ben had been thinking about his own feelings rather than his boyfriend's, which were just as important. He <em>was </em>rushing things.</p><p>"I <em>really </em>love you Ben, don't think for a second that I don't, I just-" Cole began again.</p><p>"I get it," Ben cut in, "I'm sorry."</p><p>Cole placed his hands on his shoulders, "I don't want to upset you Ben, I just... have to look out for my feelings too."</p><p>"It was a stupid idea. I'll get out of your way," Ben replied sadly, beginning to walk away. </p><p>Cole grabbed Ben's wrist and pulled him back towards him, "It wasn't a stupid idea. I just think it's too soon. I'm not saying no, I'm just saying <em>not yet</em>."</p><p>Ben looked his lover in the eye, another tear falling. Cole raised his thumb and wiped the tear away. He cupped Ben's face with his hand and smiled at him. He had never felt this way with anyone else. Ben was truly the one that he loved. </p><p>"I keep doing these things and hurting you... I'm sorry," Ben told him.</p><p>"It's not your fault. You mean well, Ben, and I appreciate you for that," Cole gave him a reassuring smile, "Besides, I think one <em>Jaya </em>wedding is enough for Ninjago right now, especially with everything going on. I can't imagine my father walking me down the aisle."</p><p>"I know... Your father wasn't exactly the nicest to me when he found out about us," Ben shrugged.</p><p>"What?" Cole's eyes widened, "He knows?!"</p><p>"Why didn't you tell him?" Ben asked.</p><p>Cole sighed, "My father has always been against this kind of stuff. And he's always been so proud of me. I promise I was going to talk to him, just..."</p><p>"So when <em>were </em>you?" Ben questioned, hurt in his voice.</p><p>Cole didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell Lou but just never found the words to.</p><p>"Cole-"</p><p>"Ben, my relationship with my father is one of the most important things to me. He's always been there for me and-" </p><p>"So he'll understand if you talk to him about it," Ben stated, "Does our relationship mean nothing to you?"</p><p>"It means everything to me, you know that! But so does the relationship with my father," Cole sighed.</p><p>Ben turned away for a moment, placing his head in his hands. After a few seconds, Cole could hear soft cries. He never wanted to hurt Ben. <em>Never</em>.</p><p>"Ben..." Cole gently placed a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>Ben moved away, Cole removed his hand. </p><p>"I'm a terrible person," He muttered.</p><p>"No you're not," Cole told him.</p><p>"All I've ever done is hurt you and pressure you into doing things you don't want to do," Ben cried.</p><p>"No, you haven't pressured me into anything. And if you hurt me then I wouldn't be with you, would I? Ben, you are one of the most amazing people I have ever met and I don't know where I'd be without you," Cole tried to catch his attention.</p><p>"Stop lying to me Cole, I know you hate me. I know you're only with me because you feel bad and I-" Ben continued.</p><p>"Ben, stop it," Cole sounded annoyed and stern. Ben glanced at his boyfriend, worry in his eyes. </p><p>Cole huffed, "I'm sick of you getting yourself down like this. You keep thinking you're a bad person because of mistakes you've made in the past. I'm sick of you saying stuff like this. I'm sick of you thinking that you aren't good enough. None of us hate you Ben, especially me. I feel like all you need me for now is just to make yourself feel good!"</p><p>"No, Cole, that's not what it is! I'm with you because I love you!" Ben exclaimed, panicking a little.</p><p>"And <em>I'm </em>with <em>you </em>because I love you. Now please stop with this crap. We all love you. We all trust you. Stop letting your past control you," Cole told him.</p><p>Ben nodded and dried his tears, "I'm so sorry. I just-"</p><p>Cole wrapped his arm around Ben's waist and pulled him towards him. He placed his other hand on Ben's cheek and kissed him on the lips passionately. Ben's heart skipped a beat as he kissed back. After a few moments, they pulled away. Cole didn't let go of Ben's waist, making sure he <em>knew </em>that he was important to him.</p><p>"I love you with my whole heart, Ben Miller," Cole stated softly. Ben wrapped his arms around Cole, hugging him tight. Cole hugged back, his heart finally feeling complete. </p><p>The two may not be getting married but at least they still had each other. That's everything they ever wanted.</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>End of flashback</em>
  </b>
</p><p>"Man... I really thought you two would get married," Jay sighed.</p><p>"We're perfect just the way we are," Cole smiled.</p><p>"I'm really happy for you, Cole," Jay returned the smile.</p><p>"Thanks Jay. Anyways, after that, I got a call from the hospital saying to come find you. They said you might need some support or something," Cole explained.</p><p>Jay nodded, "Well they weren't wrong..."</p><p>"I'm just worried about speaking to my dad," Cole sighed.</p><p>"You should be. I don't think he's going to be the most supportive of people," Jay replied.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Cole frowned.</p><p>"Y'know when I called Ben after he 'disappeared'?" </p><p>"After he checked on my parents, yeah," Cole raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"I had to talk some sense into him. Your dad said some pretty horrid stuff apparently," Jay told him.</p><p>"What?!" Cole exclaimed.</p><p>Jay nodded, "He didn't want to talk to you about it because of how close you and Lou are. He didn't want to upset you."</p><p>"I need to speak to him," Cole groaned.</p><p>"You should. And whilst you do that, I'll go see my father," Jay replied.</p><p>Cole frowned, "Are you sure? Don't force yourself to."</p><p>"I can't hide forever. And it's like you said, he needs support right now. I gotta face my fears. A little superhero taught me that I shouldn't be afraid," Jay smiled.</p><p>"Superhero?" Cole raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"It's a long story," He laughed a little.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Outrunning Karma</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The brothers had waited till the next morning to do what they wanted. Cole and Jay had not yet told anyone about the loss of Edna. They didn't know when the right time would be. Jay wanted to go see Ed and Cole wanted to speak with Lou about how he treated Ben the other day. </p><p>At around 11am, the team left to do what they needed to do. Zane went shopping for groceries, Nya and Lloyd headed to the police station to see if they found anything on the investigation yet, Jay went to see Ed, Cole visited his father and Ben was left alone with Kai. The fire ninja had spent most of the day on a FaceTime with his parents already so Ben was pretty bored by himself. He decided to call up Jake to see if he wanted to hang out.</p><p>Jake had been asking for ages if the two could meet up but Ben had been so hard on him. He thought that since he had nothing better to do, why not? </p><p>Ben had left a few minutes ago and met Jake in the Ninjago City centre so that they could walk back to his. Jake had set up movies and video games at his house for them both to do. Ben was actually rather excited to hang out with him again. It had felt like so long since they both were left alone together. But it only felt like yesterday when they were causing trouble on top of the Wailing Alps. The two were now approaching Jake's house.</p><p>"I'm really happy that you want to hang out with me, Ben," Jake beamed, "I was getting really lonely."</p><p>"Everyone else is busy today so why not?" Ben returned the smile.</p><p>"I appreciate it!" Jake giggled a little.</p><p>They continued to walk in silence for a few moments. Ben found it a little awkward but Jake loved being in his presence so it didn't really bother him all that much.</p><p>Ben glanced at Jake, "You never were a bad person, were you?"</p><p>Jake frowned, "What do you mean?"</p><p>"I forced you to do all that stuff when you really just wanted to live your life. You're just a kid," Ben sighed.</p><p>"Nonsense. It was <em>my </em>choice. And I'm not just a <em>kid.</em> I'm practically the same age as you," Jake replied.</p><p>Ben shrugged and smiled, "Yeah I suppose you're right."</p><p>"I <em>am </em>right," Jake grinned, "Anyways, here we are!"</p><p>The two stopped to see Jake's house, which Ben had obviously seen before from when he, Cole and Nya were sent on the wild goose chase to try and get Jay out of Kryptarium, yet he hadn't seen inside of it. </p><p>"Are we gonna go in?" Ben wondered.</p><p>"Of course!" Jake exclaimed, leading the way up the path and unlocking the door. Ben watched as he stepped inside and encouraged him in. Ben wandered inside too, looking around at the neatness and beautiful decor. It was rather modern, with a few plants here and there. It was rather refreshing. Jake closed the door behind them and locked one of many locks on the back of the door. Ben turned to look at him, a little concerned about the amount of locks there were.</p><p>Jake smiled at him, "I've had problems with break ins before."</p><p>"Ah, right," Ben nodded.</p><p>They entered the main room to see video game cases set out on the floor and a movie on TV. </p><p>"Wow, you really had this planned out, didn't you?" Ben smiled.</p><p>Jake nodded, "I couldn't wait for us to hang out! I knew you'd call me at some point."</p><p>"Good job I did then," Ben laughed.</p><p>"Yeah!" Jake exclaimed happily, "Ooh, please, come sit down. Make yourself at home."</p><p>"Thanks," Ben smiled.</p><p>Jake wandered over to the TV and started pressing buttons with the remote control to get the movie to work. Ben looked around a little more before finally speaking up.</p><p>"Um, could you point me in the way of your bathroom, please?" Ben wondered.</p><p>"Oh sure," Ben replied, "It's the room right at the end of the corridor."</p><p>"Thanks. I'll only be a minute," He stated before leaving the room and glancing down the corridor. He spotted the room at the end and headed towards it. Just as he was coming up to the door, he peered through one of the open doors quickly. All of a sudden, he spots something in the room. He took a better peak, peering through properly. Inside the room was a bed and more furniture you would find in a bedroom, for example; a wardrobe. He stepped inside quietly, trying not to make any sudden noises that would alarm Jake. </p><p>He moved slowly towards the bed, spotting something alarming on the bedside table. He frowned as he stood before it, spotting a small knife. </p><p>"Ew, what is that?!" He whispered, spotting the dried up blood on the blade. He glanced down to see a small note sort of thing under the knife. </p><p>It read, '<em>The blood of Lila Miller'</em>.</p><p>Ben gasped. The last thing he ever expected was to find <em>his sister's blood </em>in Jake's house, on a <em>knife</em>. But what could this mean? </p><p>"He... he did this? He <em>killed </em>Lila?" Ben questioned himself.</p><p>He then looked further down the table to see an empty space with a note saying '<em>The blood of Ben Miller'</em>.</p><p>"What the heck?!" Ben tried to stay quiet, "What could this mean?" </p><p>He continued to stand there, staring at it for a few moments, not even noticing the footsteps coming down the corridor. </p><p>"What are you doing in here?!" </p><p>Ben spun around rapidly, spotting Jake at the door, he seemed rather alarmed.</p><p>"I-" </p><p>"Get away from that!" Jake exclaimed.</p><p>"What the heck is all of that?! Why do you have my sisters blood on a freaking knife?!" Ben shouted.</p><p>"What?" Jake frowned, "I don't have your sister's blood."</p><p>"Then what's that?!" Ben pointed at the knife on the table.</p><p>"That's... um... that's-" Jake began awkwardly.</p><p>"Lila was my sister! She was murdered when I was younger!" Ben exclaimed.</p><p>Jake froze, "Excuse me?"</p><p>"So why do you have her blood?! And why is there a note about <em>my </em>blood?!" Ben asked angrily.</p><p>"Ben, I can explain-" Jake started.</p><p>"Please do," Ben folded his arms.</p><p>"I... I dated Lila when I was younger. We were meant to be together..." Jake began.</p><p>"You... you were the guy she always spoke about... her boyfriend...?" Ben frowned.</p><p>Jake nodded, "I wanted us to stay secret. But I told her to not talk to other guys because I loved her too much. I couldn't bare the thought of losing her."</p><p>"But that doesn't explain why you have her blood," Ben complained.</p><p>Jake sighed. He knew that this day would've came no matter if he and Ben had eventually started dating or not. He just didn't want it to come this soon. And he definitely had no idea that he and Lila were related. He only thought they had the same last name, not that they were actually related.</p><p>"I... I didn't want her to leave me so... so one day, when we were on a date, I tried to take some of her blood so it could always be with me if she ever left but... but I wasn't careful and she... she died," Jake explained.</p><p>Ben froze, his heart racing. </p><p>"Do you have any idea how many years I've waited for my sister's killer to be caught?! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to lose her?! She was the only family I had left! I HAD NOTHING. And you... you had to be so selfish to take her away from me! Because you <em>'wanted her blood'</em>. Do you have any idea how messed up that is?!" Ben shouted.</p><p>"I'm sorry Ben. I thought she was the love of my life but... but then I met <em>you </em>and everything changed. It changed for the better," Jake smiled innocently.</p><p>"Excuse me?" Ben questioned, disgust in his voice.</p><p>"<em>You </em>are the love of my life, Ben. I've always wanted to be with you ever since I saw you on Chen's Island. You were the one who inspired me to do everything I've done. I've killed so many people for you," Jake beamed, trying to convince the boy stood before him.</p><p>Ben looked at the floor, fear in his eyes. After a few moments, his eyes widened as he glanced up at Jake again.</p><p>"You... you were the one who robbed the bakery... and killed Cliff... and set off the explosions... and... how could you?!" </p><p>"It was all for you!" Jake exclaimed.</p><p>"For me?! FOR ME?! If it was all <em>for me</em>, you wouldn't have killed anyone! This has effected so many people, Jake! Especially the team. I thought you were our friend!" Ben exclaimed.</p><p>"I am your friend!" Jake replied.</p><p>"Really?! Well tell that to Cliff and Skylor. They both lost their lives because of your actions. You literally <em>murdered </em>my sister and Cliff! That's Jay and Cole's father!" Ben shouted.</p><p>"I only set off that explosion hoping it would kill Cole," Jake rolled his eyes.</p><p>"What?!" Ben's eyes widened.</p><p>"Can't you see that he's just getting in the way of us? Of our relationship! We could be so happy together if you just let that loser go. He doesn't deserve you. He doesn't treat you properly. But I can!" Jake argued.</p><p>"Jake, are you nuts?! I love Cole! I always have and I always will! There will never be anything between you and me. Never! I will never love someone who kills people! You know I've changed. You know I hate people getting hurt," Ben yelled.</p><p>"No, I know the real you, Ben. The real you wants to hurt people just like you did when we were a team. We worked so well together! Why can't you trust me?" Jake questioned.</p><p>"Why can't I trust you?! Because you've killed people! You've broken mine and the team's trust! How can we ever trust you?!" Ben shouted.</p><p>"I just want someone to love me! I just want <em>you </em>to love me!" Jake argued.</p><p>"And you had love! You had Lila but you decided to kill her instead!" </p><p>"I never meant to kill her!" Jake cried.</p><p>"And now you want to kill <em>me</em> too?! What's wrong with you?!" Ben shouted.</p><p>"But Ben-" Jake began, his voice shaking.</p><p>"No. I'm going home and I never want to see you again," Ben snarled.</p><p>Jake stood in the way of the door quickly, a glare on his face. He slammed the door closed, locked it and threw the key out the window. Ben's eyebrows furrowed.</p><p>"Let me past," Ben told him sternly.</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Jake."</p><p>"You aren't going anywhere. Not until I get what I want."</p><p>On the other side of Ninjago, Cole was visiting his father. He was a little nervous about seeing him after all that chaos with Ben but he was determined to fix things whether it meant falling out with Lou or not. Ben was important to him and if he didn't understand that, then what was the point. Cole hoped that he would understand.</p><p>Cole wandered up to the front door after checking his phone for any possible updates from the team. Nothing. </p><p>He knocked on the front door and waited for a few moments before he finally heard footsteps approaching. The door opened and Lou was stood there. As soon as he spotted his son, he smiled.</p><p>"Son!" </p><p>"Hey dad," Cole smiled.</p><p>"How are you? Is everything okay?" Lou wondered.</p><p>"Oh yeah, everything is great, dad," Cole replied.</p><p>"Come in, come in," Lou told him.</p><p>Cole felt a little awkward but entered anyway. He walked into the main room to see Libber and Sabrina sat in there. </p><p>"Hey Cole," Libber smiled.</p><p>"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Sabrina joked.</p><p>"Hey," Cole waved at them. Lou entered the room behind his son.</p><p>"Um, could you two give us a minute please? I really need to talk to my dad," Cole asked them nicely.</p><p>"Sure," Libber beamed.</p><p>"Of course!" Sabrina replied.</p><p>"Thanks," He stated before watching them leave. As soon as they left the room and wandered down the corridor, Cole and Lou sat down on the comfy sofas.</p><p>"So what's up?" Lou smiled.</p><p>"I wanted to talk to you about something that happened the other day," Cole started awkwardly.</p><p>"Which was...?" Lou questioned.</p><p>Cole took a deep breath before replying, "About Ben."</p><p>Lou broke eye contact with his son and glanced down at the ground in front of him.</p><p>"I sent him to check up on you since I couldn't do it myself and apparently you said some... um... pretty horrible stuff," Cole stated.</p><p>Lou frowned, "I was just expressing my opinion, not to mention that I was telling the truth. Whatever he said, was a lie."</p><p>"But I don't get it. I get why you don't like him, because of his checkered past but he's a different person now, dad. He's a <em>good </em>person. He's done nothing wrong, so why do you have to hate on him?" Cole questioned.</p><p>"He hurt you and he hurt your friends. He hurt so many people, including me," Lou folded his arms.</p><p>"When? When did he hurt you?" Cole asked, frustrated.</p><p>Lou thought for a minute, unable to come up with an answer.</p><p>"Exactly," Cole sat back in the chair.</p><p>"I don't like the fact that... you're... y'know," Lou replied after a moment.</p><p>"That I'm gay? Yeah, I know you don't like that kind of stuff, dad, but it's a thing, okay? And I <em>am </em>gay. There's nothing you can do to change that. But just because I'm different, doesn't mean that you can't treat Ben, my <em>boyfriend</em>, like everyone else. He's done nothing wrong, dad. Leave him out of our little arguments," Cole told him.</p><p>"This isn't a little argument, Cole. You know how I feel about this topic. How could you do this to me? How could you be gay behind my back?" Lou questioned, hurt in his voice.</p><p>Cole laughed, "You think it's a choice? You think being <em>gay </em>is a choice? I can't help who I like. I can't help that I like guys and guys only. It shouldn't matter to you anyway, it's not like you have to date him. I just don't understand why you can't accept it."</p><p>Lou sighed, "I thought I could trust you, son."</p><p>"You should be able to trust me no matter who I'm attracted to," Cole rolled his eyes.</p><p>"I really want to have my son around. Don't you want me around too?" Lou questioned.</p><p>"Of course I do," Cole replied.</p><p>"Then break up with Ben," Lou sat forward.</p><p>Cole laughed, "Really?! Is that really how you're going to act?! You know what? Until you can finally accept who I am <em>and </em>who I'm dating, stay away from me and my friends. At least <em>they </em>will support me no matter who I like."</p><p>Cole glared at his father before leaving the house and slamming the door behind him, making Lou jump. He had always protected his son, but to know that he was going against his wishes really hurt. But Cole was right. He didn't know it but he was. Cole was always right.</p><p>Cole wandered down the street back towards Ninjago City. His breathing was heavy and his heart raced. He was so angry and frustrated that he could barely think properly. So many things were circling around in his head. But there was one thing he could think of doing.</p><p>He took out his phone from his back pocket and dialled Ben's number. He put the phone to his ear, waited a few moments, but it went straight to voicemail.</p><p>"Hey Ben, it's me. Can you call me back as soon as you get this? This didn't go as planned with my dad. Please, just call me ASAP."</p><p>He sent the voicemail, stopped in his tracks and sighed. He glanced down at his phone with the lock screen of him and Ben and smiled.</p><p>"I'm not gonna give up on you just because my father is being an idiot. I promise," He whispered.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. The hill I die on</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cole entered the main room, where the rest of the team were. Cole had spent most of the day in his room, thinking things over. Everything with his dad was a mess right now. Jay hadn't long gotten back from the hospital either. Zane and Lloyd hadn't been able to find anything at the police station.</p><p>Cole glanced around the room, his phone in his hand. It was around 6pm and the sun was just about to start setting.</p><p>"Hey Cole, is everything okay?" Zane asked.</p><p>"Have any of you guys heard from Ben since this morning?" He asked, worry in his voice.</p><p>"No, why?" Kai frowned.</p><p>"He's not answering any of my calls," Cole replied.</p><p>"Isn't he at Jake's place?" Jay wondered.</p><p>Cole nodded, "He never misses my calls."</p><p>"I'm sure he's fine. He's probably got his phone on silent or something," Nya suggested.</p><p>"Yeah probably. Maybe I'm just overreacting. It's just beginning to get late and ugh... I don't know," Cole sighed.</p><p>"It's okay, we all get like that sometimes," Jay smiled.</p><p>"Why don't you come join us?" Lloyd asked.</p><p>Cole nodded, "Yeah, I need to take my mind off things."</p><p>Just as Cole was going to go and sit down, his phone began to ring. He quickly answered it within a heartbeat. The team all glanced at him.</p><p>"Ben? Are you okay? You haven't been answering my calls or anything I-" Cole began quickly.</p><p>"Cole, you have to listen to me," Ben spoke, his voice was quiet.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, sure, what is it?" Cole frowned.</p><p>"I need you to get police down to Jake's house. Now," He ordered.</p><p>"What? Why? Is everything okay?" Cole questioned.</p><p>"Just do it, quickly. Before he wakes up and comes to find me."</p><p>"Ben... you sound really weak. What's going on?" Cole's eyebrows creased with worry.</p><p>"Cole, listen to me, go and get police to that house, now, okay? Don't worry about me," Ben spoke softly.</p><p>"Ben, what the hell is going on?" Cole questioned, becoming more and more worried.</p><p>"Put me on loud speaker."</p><p>Cole waited a second before putting his phone on loud speaker so that everyone could hear.</p><p>"Okay, now explain," Cole demanded.</p><p>"It was Jake. All of it," He began.</p><p>"All of what?" Lloyd frowned.</p><p>"The bakery robbery, the explosions, everything."</p><p>"What?!" Kai exclaimed.</p><p>"Jake did it?!" Cole frowned.</p><p>"How do you know?" Nya questioned.</p><p>"I saw inside his room. He had a knife with my dead sister's blood on it. She was murdered when I was younger yet they never found the killer. Jake admitted to everything. He was the one who did all that stuff. It was him," He replied.</p><p>"He... he killed my father," Jay spoke quietly, his heart sinking through his chest. </p><p>"You need to get police round there right now!" He exclaimed quietly.</p><p>"Where are <em>you</em>?" Cole asked, worried.</p><p>"That doesn't matter," He replied after a minute.</p><p>"No, Ben, tell me where you are," Cole demanded.</p><p>Another few moments passed. They waited and waited for an answer but all they got was silence. Cole got more worried with every second that passed.</p><p>"Ben?" Cole frowned.</p><p>"Ben?"</p><p>"Ben, answer me."</p><p>"Ben?!"</p><p>"We need to get down to that house right now," Lloyd stated, standing up. The rest of the team agreed.</p><p>"I'll call the police and wait here with Kai," Zane told them.</p><p>"It's time to stop this guy once and for all," Jay snarled.</p><p>"Let's do it," Lloyd grinned.</p><p>"You guys go ahead, I need to find Ben," Cole told them as he watched them leave, "Zane can you help me find the IP address please?"</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>After about five minutes of impatient waiting, Zane had given Cole Ben's exact location. He ran out the door, trying to call Ben many times but was still getting nothing from him. He formed his elemental dragon and flew all the way to the spot. There was no one around and the sun was setting over the hills. </p><p>"Ben!" He called out, hoping for a small answer. After travelling another few miles over the hills, he spotted a small dark figure laying on top of one of the hills. It was neatly cut grass, a few flowers here and there. There were a few poppies around too. Cole narrowed his eyes, spotting Ben led on the ground. </p><p>"Ben!" He shouted, jumping down to the ground. He ran up to him and grabbed his shoulders, sitting him in his lap. </p><p>The sun was so very calming. It set over the distant hills slowly, the sky mixed shades of blue, orange and pink. </p><p>"Ben? Ben, answer me," Cole cried, his eyes filling with tears. He moved the hair gently out of Ben's face, his eyes were shut, his skin was pale. </p><p>"Ben, please, wake up."</p><p>Ben laid still, his body lifeless. Cole raised one of his hands that was wrapped around Ben. It was covered in blood. He looked down to see a stab wound.</p><p>Cole gasped, tears slowly falling down his cheeks.</p><p>"What did he do to you?" He snarled.</p><p>He held onto his boyfriend tight, hoping to feel some sort of life in him. Yet there wasn't and that's what broke him entirely.</p><p>"Ben, please, you can't die on me! I need you! No Cole, don't be stupid. He's a Kitsune, he'll just do exactly what he did last time, right? Ben? Ben. Come on, please," Cole cried.</p><p>He waited a minute but when nothing happened, he felt his heart break in two. Ben always meant so much to him, how could he do this? Ben had made a dumb decision. But so had Cole. He should've never left him to go see his father. </p><p>"No, no," He cried quietly, pulling Ben closer to him, "please Ben, I beg you, please wake up. Please. I need you..."</p><p>A few minutes passed and Cole continued to hold Ben up to his chest. Tears streamed down his cheeks and no matter how hard he tried to stay strong, he broke down more and more. The love of his life was <em>dead</em>. </p><p>The earth ninja could feel the anger boil up inside of him. Not only was he angry at himself for leaving Ben but was angry at Jake. Jake had caused all this. Jake was the reason his boyfriend was dead. </p><p>"I swear to god if he isn't dead by now, I'm gonna kill him," Cole snarled, "Argh! How could I be so stupid?!"</p><p>On the other side of Ninjago, outside Jake's house, the team were waiting by the police cars as the police went inside, looking for the criminal. They all waited anxiously, hoping for some good news. If Jake had gotten away, it would be almost impossible to find him. Although he wouldn't have gotten far. </p><p>Within a few minutes, the police officers returned, the criminal in handcuffs. He looked exhausted and there was a large cut on his cheek.</p><p>"Jake," Jay glared. </p><p>"We've finally caught him," Nya placed a hand on her fiancé's shoulder. </p><p>"Correction," Lloyd cut in, "<em>Ben </em>caught him."</p><p>The team nodded in agreement. They had finally come to the end of their investigation. And after all this time, it had been <em>Jake</em>. One of the people they thought they could trust. Yet he was the guy who made their lives a living nightmare. So many people had died because of Jake's actions. The answer was right under their noses all this time. How could they be so blind?</p><p>They slowly walked Jake down the path towards the police cars. Investigations rushed into the house to check for evidence and block off any access for trespassers. Jay opened his mouth to say something to Jake but was interrupted.</p><p>"You!" </p><p>The team's heads turned to see Cole marching up to them, his eyes red and puffy. </p><p>"You f**king did this! This is all YOUR fault! How could you do this to us?! How could you do this to Ben?!" Cole shouted, walking straight up to Jake's face. Jake felt a little uncomfortable, a guilty look on his face.</p><p>"It's YOUR fault that Ben's dead!" Cole pointed a finger angrily in Jake's face. Jake froze, his heart racing.</p><p>Lloyd grabbed Cole's shoulder and pulled him away. </p><p>"What?" Nya frowned.</p><p>"What are you talking about?" Jay questioned.</p><p>"He killed Ben," Cole snarled.</p><p>"I... I didn't mean to, I-" Jake stuttered, fear in his eyes.</p><p>"I'm gonna f**king kill you!" Cole screamed.</p><p>Cole lunged forward at the criminal, the police officers pulling Jake away out of reach. Jay and Lloyd grabbed Cole and pulled him back towards them.</p><p>"Cole, Cole, listen to me," Jay tried to get his brother's attention.</p><p>"You're a f**king psychopath, I hope you die alone," Cole snapped at Jake.</p><p>"Cole," Jay waved a hand in his face.</p><p>Cole looked at Jay, tears in his eyes. </p><p>"Come here," Jay muttered, pulling Cole into a tight hug. Cole hugged him back, trying his best not to break down in front of everyone. </p><p>The police officers put Jake in the police car and got in themselves. After a few minutes, they drove off, the team watching as Jake looked at them with an apologetic look. </p><p>Jay pulled away from the hug, looking his brother directly in the eye. He had wet patches under his eyes, a scared look haunting him. </p><p>"What happened?" Jay asked calmly.</p><p>"Zane tracked the IP address and it took me to a hill. I found him led there, dead," Cole explained sadly.</p><p>"But how?" Nya questioned.</p><p>"It was Jake. Jake stabbed him," Cole began to cry again, trying his very hardest to keep it together but he just <em>couldn't</em>.</p><p>Ben was so important to him. No matter how many times they fell out, he still loved him so much and he wouldn't let him go for the world. He needed Ben. And now that he was gone for real, it felt like the whole world was against him. He never knew how Jay felt but now he did. Now he knew what it was like to finally lose someone so close. The team had lost too many people already. <em>Why Ben?</em></p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. You were good to me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your body, your mind, your work, your ambitions, the things that you have worked for, the things that you want to do, the things that you have not finished, the things that you have been <em>trying</em> to finish – there is an end of all these. What happens after is unknown. The thing called death is the end to everything you know. To find out what is death there must be no distance between death and who you are living with your troubles.</p><p>To die, the feeling of not only death but also life had to cease, not consciously but deep down inside. People ask 'what is the meaning of life?' because our lives are not perfect and they are not easy. It always gets hard. But it is all nonsense.</p><p>Some people have to find out how to live with death. People will always die, even the ones who are closest to you, but you have to discover by yourself how to deal with it. Some people laugh, some people cry, but others completely break. And this can stick with someone for months, sometimes even years.</p><p>People say, to live with death and accept it, you have to have a <em>method</em>. But you cannot have a method to live with something you will never fully understand. You cannot imagine the meaning of death when it has never had a meaning. You have to find out how you can <em>cope </em>with it. You have to wrap your head around it, get used to it. Not create a method. Not try to fully understand something that is impossible to get.</p><p>But you really have to find out what death means and whether you can live with it just as much as you live with your family, your friends, your anxiety. Most people live with all these. They live with fears. But can you live in the same way with something you don't know?</p><p>Death is hard to understand. It's hard to cope with and it's hard to wrap your head around. That's why some people will never get over it. <em>Never.</em></p><p>The church was full of people sat in the seats quietly. Quite a few sniffles could be heard, some people even crying their hearts out. The ninja team and close family were sat in the front row, others behind.</p><p>At the front of the church, there were 4 caskets set out neatly. They were closed tight, flowers laid neatly on top. One by one, they went up to them slowly, saying their final goodbyes.</p><p>First to go up was Kai, Lloyd, Nya and Zane. They slowly approached the third casket down, orange flowers on top. They stopped, Kai's eyes eventually filling with tears. You could feel the pain that they were in. <em>All of them.</em></p><p>Lloyd glanced at Kai, giving him a small nod of reassurance. Kai looked down at the casket before him, barely being able to think straight.</p><p>"Hey Sky," He spoke softly, "You didn't deserve to pass... you were such a good person."</p><p>"She was amazing," Zane smiled.</p><p>Kai nodded, "You always helped us and you always supported us. We cannot thank you enough and I am so <em>so </em>grateful that I met you. Even though we never had a chance to be together, I would've <em>loved </em>being with you.</p><p>Lloyd placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder, catching his attention for a moment. He gave him a reassuring smile before looking at the casket briefly.</p><p>"We'll miss you Sky," Lloyd spoke aloud. The others nodded in agreement, tears slowly rolling down Kai's cheeks. Skylor was the first person he ever properly liked. She was the first girl that ever believed in him the way that she did. And he couldn't have felt more lucky to have known her.</p><p>They all sat back down in their seats, and the next to get up was Jay and his father. Both Jay and Ed wandered up to the second casket, them both taking deep breaths. There were yellow flowers on top of the casket, symbolising joy. Jay could feel his eyes already filling with tears.</p><p>"Edna," Ed sighed, his heart already shattered.</p><p>"Mom," Jay whispered, trying his best not to cry. His hands were shaking, his throat tightening.</p><p>"Ever since we first met, I fell in love with you. I remember our first date like it happened yesterday," Ed smiled, "You were the ray of sunshine I never knew I needed."</p><p>Jay smiled.</p><p>"And you were the one who encouraged me to take in this little one," Ed pulled Jay closer to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Jay giggled a little.</p><p>"That was one of the best decisions I ever made, after marrying you of course," Ed continued, looking at the casket with a sad look, "And yet, no matter what happened, you still managed to stay positive and persevere. You remind me of someone else I know."</p><p>Ed glanced at his son with a smile, Jay returned it.</p><p>"Don't forget about us in the afterlife my love," Ed told his wife, "Because we sure as hell will never forget you."</p><p>Jay nodded and took a deep breath. He had planned what he was going to say for <em>days</em> but now that it was actually time... he couldn't find the words. He forget everything. And improvisation wasn't one of his strong suits.</p><p>"Hey mom," Jay sighed, "I know that it's not the perfect speech you were hoping for but... I just want you to know that I am so <em>so </em>grateful that you raised me. I don't know where I'd be without you. I took you for granted and I'm so sorry, mom. You were always here for me when I needed you. You always gave me courage and the power of positive thinking, although I wasn't positive the majority of the time."</p><p>A tear rolled down Jay's cheek, making its way further and further down his face towards his chin, where it would drop onto his shirt.</p><p>"You stuck with me through think and thin and I cannot thank you enough. I just really wish you were here..." Jay sighed.</p><p>Ed wrapped his arm around his son again, "She is. She will always be with us, son."</p><p>Jay nodded, "I know."</p><p>"This isn't a goodbye," Ed stated.</p><p>"It's a farewell," Jay added.</p><p>Ed sat back down as Jay made his way over to the fourth casket, Cole soon joined him, as did Sabrina, Libber and Hayley.</p><p>"Aw, look at this, the whole family is finally together in one room," Libber joked. The rest of them chuckled. They stood there in silence for a moment before someone finally spoke up.</p><p>"I know we're not the most perfect family," Cole began, "But we will always be here for each other."</p><p>"Just like how you were here for us, dad," Hayley smiled.</p><p>"And even though we may have a checkered past, we're still a family and family stick together," Jay added.</p><p>"We cannot thank you enough for bringing these three into our lives too," Libber smiled at Cole, Jay and Hayley.</p><p>"I don't care what anyone says, it was <em>my </em>fault that you are gone. I couldn't let go of the past. I'm so sorry," Jay sighed, his eyes slowly filling with tears.</p><p>Cole placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself."</p><p>"We're all to blame for the way we treated him," Hayley pointed out.</p><p>Cole, Sabrina and Libber nodded.</p><p>Jay sighed again, "Even before I found out that you were my father, you were my hero. I always looked up to you not only as a person but as a superhero. You encouraged me to stand up to evil even though the Star Farer movies were fake. And everything I went through, especially with Nadakhan... you were there for me. I just... really want you to be here."</p><p>Libber wrapped her arm around Jay for comfort. Another tear falling down his cheek.</p><p>"You may have been a bad person in the past but you definitely made up for it later on," Sabrina smiled. The others nodded.</p><p>"We'll miss you, <em>dad</em>," Cole stated, placing his hand on the casket for a brief moment.</p><p>The family wrapped their arms around each other, coming together for a group hug.</p><p>"To Cliff," Libber began.</p><p>"To Cliff," They all replied in unison.</p><p>They all pulled away from their hug, Cole glanced over at the last casket. He took a deep breath before slowly heading over to it. Green flowers on top, reminding Cole of his boyfriend's eyes. He missed them so much. He crouched down, his hand on the casket.</p><p>"Ben..." Cole began to cry.</p><p>Nya came up behind Cole, placing a hand on his shoulder in support. She also wanted to say goodbye to him. She <em>did </em>date him at one point.</p><p>"Things aren't the same without you," Cole started, "They never will be. And I'm just so scared of being alone. I'm scared of losing you for good. But now I am and..."</p><p>Cole started to cry again, closing his eyes tight, not letting go of the casket. The rest of the team crowded round to support Cole and to say their own goodbyes. Ben was important to them all.</p><p>"We all misjudged you," Kai sighed, "Especially me. And I was an idiot to do so. We should've trusted you. <em>I </em>should've trusted you."</p><p>"You were the one who solved all of this. You stopped Jake, only to be hurt. You're gone too soon," Zane spoke softly and calmly.</p><p>There was a moment of silence, the only sound was coming from Cole. Jay kneeled down beside his brother, wrapping his arms around him.</p><p>"I never meant to hurt you, Ben," Nya murmured, "You were such a good person."</p><p>"You tried so hard to prove yourself when <em>we </em>were the ones that needed to prove ourselves to <em>you</em>. We should've trusted you. We should've given you a second chance. <em>We </em>were the ones who hurt <em>you</em>, not the other way round," Lloyd sighed.</p><p>"We were the worst friends," Kai added.</p><p>"The team will never be the same without you, Ben. You really were part of our family, and you still are. We will forever remember your name. <em>Ninjago</em> will remember your name," Jay smiled at the casket.</p><p>Cole dried his tears a little, holding back more. He reached into his pocket and took out a small black box. The team watched as he opened it up to see a beautiful titanium ring. It had black diamonds all along the outside and the word '<em>Colen</em>' engraved on the inside. Cole picked it up out the box and smiled at it as he held onto it tightly.</p><p>"Colen for ever," Cole smiled, his voice shaking.</p><p>After a few moments of staring at it, he held out his left hand flat in front of him and slid the ring onto his ring finger. He looked at it for a minute, smiling at how perfect it was.</p><p>"And now we'll always be together," Cole took a deep breath, another tear falling from his eye.</p><p>The earth ninja raised his hand to his mouth, gently kissed his index and middle fingers and slowly but surely placed them on the casket in front of him.</p><p>"I'll always love you, my angel," Cole closed his eyes tight again, gently pressing his forehead against the casket, not taking his hands off.</p><p>Another few minutes passed and after everyone had said their final goodbyes, everyone headed outside in the setting sun to watch the caskets slowly being transported to their resting places. They stood in a bundle, watching as they were lowered down into the ground.</p><p>The place was quiet, the trees were blossoming. There was a chilled breeze but nothing too cold. Jay and Cole were stood at the front, Nya beside Jay. Zane and Lloyd were on the other side of Cole. Kai was stood beside his sister, their parents behind them. Ed and Libber were behind Jay, Sabrina and Lou behind their son. Hayley was between Sabrina and Libber. Wu and Misako stood behind Lloyd and Zane. Dareth, Darien, Tox and Jessie were also there. Other close family and friends were too.</p><p>Nya and Jay were holding hands tight, Kai, Zane and Lloyd all linked hands with those next to them. Lou had his hand on his son's shoulder for support. Jay's head was on Cole's shoulder, Cole's head resting on top of his brother's, their hands were linked.</p><p>Beside where Ben's casket was being laid was Lila's. They thought it would be the perfect place for him since he missed her so much. She was the only family they ever really knew about and for them to rest together would be a perfect idea. At least they wouldn't be alone. Edna was to the right of Ben and Cliff was to left of Lila. Now they could rest peacefully.</p><p>It wouldn't be easy for them all. They knew that. The world can take the most amazing people too soon and it wouldn't seem fair. It was <em>never </em>fair. But this was what was supposed to happen. Their time had come.</p><p>They could all finally fly in heaven as the angels they always were.</p><p>This meant new beginnings for the team. New missions. New villains. And they were ready for anything the world would throw at them next.</p><p>Riley was right. Superheroes aren't scared of anything. Ben wasn't scared. Edna wasn't scared. Cliff wasn't scared. Skylor wasn't scared. They were all brave enough to face themselves, to face the world, to face <em>death </em>itself.</p><p>
  <em>They were the true superheroes.</em>
</p><p>{The End}</p>
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